


Unconditionally

by katie_049



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shop, F/M, Felicity is a barista, Fluff, Oliver is CEO
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-03-30 04:12:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 46,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3922438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katie_049/pseuds/katie_049
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Something clicked, watching this woman prepare his coffee. He wasn't the type of man who liked to commit, but everything seemed different with the blond woman behind the counter." After a difficult year, Oliver Queen's entire life is turned upside down when he meets Felicity Smoak at the coffee shop around the corner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**March 4th, 2015**

Oliver Queen had everything. He was the most eligible bachelor in Starling City, he lived in one of the best apartments in the city and he was the CEO of one of the largest companies in the country. Women were basically lying at his feet, begging to be the future 'Mrs. Queen'. He lived a perfect life, but he didn't care about any of it.

It all started when his father passed away a few months ago. Suddenly, nothing mattered anymore, not the money or the women. He stopped caring about it all.

He had just moved out of the mansion, needing his own space, when is mother called him in tears, telling him that his father, Robert Queen, had a heart attack.

 

_Oliver didn't know how he made it to Starling General; all he knew when he got the call was that he had to get there as quickly as possible. He ran blindly through the corridors, desperate for any sign of them, until one of the nurses stopped him._

_"Sir, can I help you?" She asked, laying her hand on his shoulder. Her tone was friendly, but he barely registered it through his panic._

_"I... my father, Robert Queen, was brought here. He had a heart attack. I'm looking for my mother and sister. They said they would be here," he whispered after taking several deep breaths. He had to be strong._

_"Alright, let me bring you to the emergency room waiting area. They will probably be there", the nurse told him. He didn't resist when she began gently pushing him down the corridor._

_After walking for several minutes, they entered a rather large room. His mother and Thea were huddle together in the corner._

_"Ollie!" His sister cried. Seconds later, she was hugging him, crying hysterically. She had just turned 18 years old a few months ago and was finishing high school this year._

_"It's alright. I'm here, Speedy," he tried to assure her, but taking a look at his mother made his stomach churn._

_Moira Queen was staring blankly at the opposite wall of the waiting room. In her hand, she was clutching a white handkerchief and silent tears where running down her face._

_It took him one look to know his father didn't make it._

_"Mom," he muttered quietly, maneuvering Thea and himself next to her on the chairs._

_She looked up to him and it almost broke his heart. His normally strong mother was at a loss for words, her eyes emotionless._

_"He is dead, Oliver. Your father is dead," she breathed. Thea next to him, started crying louder._

_Oliver felt his throat closing and he swallowed hard. There was an aching pain in his chest. Taking long, deep breaths and closing his eyes for a moment, he enveloped his mother in his arms, letting her cry on his shoulder._

_He had to be the strong one from now on. His father wasn't here anymore to hold the family together. It was his turn to step up._

 

The following weeks were brutal. He became the CEO of Queen Consolidated, their family's company, following in his father's footsteps. He stopped drinking, partying, and sleeping around with random women. He even moved back to the mansion for the first two weeks, trying to be there for his mother and sister, but it quickly became too much, and he moved back to his apartment.

They were never the perfect family everyone assumed. Moira and Robert argued, sometimes to the point Oliver wasn't even sure if they really loved each other. His sister didn't seem to care about anything beyond the latest fashion and refused to go to college after high school. Granted, nobody seemed to except anything else from her. He certainly wasn't a good role model for her. In fact, he was probably one of the main reasons his family was far from perfect underneath the surface.

Now, a few months later, he still missed his father, but he never wished for his old life back. He didn't miss the raging parties, or the meaningless one-night stands. He actually enjoyed the stability of his life now that he had a job and more responsibility than simply making the occasional appearance in public.

Nevertheless, he hadn't earned his job; it was handed to him, like everything else in his life. After two years at Harvard pursuing a business degree, he was kicked out for conduct unbecoming to the school's public image. Of course, nobody officially expelled him; he left the school for "private reasons," but everyone who knew him realized it was just another lie to cover up his over-the-top escapades. After all, it was the second school he left after Princeton.

His parents didn't try to send him to another school after that. Instead, he moved back home and reunited with his friend, Tommy, living up to his reputation in full. Having Tommy around, living the exact same life, didn't help. If anything, he made it worse.

Looking back, Oliver knew how stupid he was. He was a young, spoiled kid with everything he wanted available at the snap of his fingers, but he took it all for granted.

Today, sitting in his office and reading an article about a new project in Applied Sciences, he wished that he had listened more at the lectures and cared less about the pretty girls sitting in front of him. It was hard, making the right decisions for the company, even though his executive assistant, Martha, tried to help him with everything she could.

Right at that moment, Martha pushed into his office, talking as she approached his desk. “Here is the schedule for the afternoon, Mr. Queen. Looks like it will be a late night again."

He let out a frustrated groan, running a hand through his hair. “Great.”

“I can stay longer, too, you know”, Martha suggested, shooting him a sympathetic glance.

He looked at her sternly, shaking his head. “No, Martha. We have an agreement remember? No overtime.”

The brunette opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again at his stare and gave him a smile in surrender. She was always happy and thankful to go home at a decent time to be with her husband and child. It was the least Oliver could do, after all she did for him. She knew more about the company than he did, and she was always able to answer his questions. She was a life saver.

Once Martha left his office, he finished reading his article. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was time for his lunch break and sighed in relief. He gathered his suit jacket and wallet before heading out of the office via the elevator.

Normally, he ordered in, but last week, he discovered a small café down the street from Queen Consolidated. It was now his favorite lunch spot, and not just for food.

 

_Bill Taylor's presentation about the new project for the Applied Sciences department finally wrapped up, and after looking at this watch, Oliver realized he had exactly 20 minutes before his next meeting was going to start. He was in desperate need of another coffee if he hoped to survive the afternoon._

_Unfortunately, the coffee machine in the break room broke this morning, which left him with no choice but to make a run to a coffee shop. Quickly excusing himself, he jogged out of the meeting room and headed for the small coffee shop he passed every morning on the way to work._

_On the way, he sent a quick text to Martha, asking for her coffee preference. He never allowed her to make coffee for him, not wanting to be one of those arrogant people who misused their assistants._

_Entering the small coffee shop, he was immediately hit with the amazing aroma of freshly brewed coffee. From that moment on, he knew he was going to love this coffee shop. He placed his order and proceeded to the waiting area. Checking his phone, he saw that he still had about 10 minutes left. That was when he first laid eyes on Felicity._

_Oliver was immediately mesmerized by the blonde ponytail falling smoothly down her back and the blue eyes hidden behind thick, black glasses. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she moved flawlessly behind the counter, preparing some kind of beverage without bumping into any of her co-workers. Her lips, colored to match the dark purple dress she wore under her apron, pressed together as she hummed softly along with the song on the radio, not bothered by the noise level._

_Something clicked, watching this woman prepare his coffee. For the first time in months, Oliver felt like his life made sense, like there was something to live for again._

_He wasn't the type of man who liked to commit, his longest relationship lasting about three months. When that failed, he stopped trying the whole commitment thing, not wanting to be tied to only one person for too long._

_But everything seemed different with the blonde woman behind the counter. His first thought wasn't how to get her to sleep with him; he didn't even think about how good she looked in her dress, or about her long, smooth legs exposed by its mid-thigh hemline. He simply wanted to talk to her.  
_

_"Two grande coffees for Oliver," the blonde girl called, scanning the room for him. He quickly moved forward, catching her eye and flashing her a wide smile. He made a point to look at her name tag when he grabbed the two coffees._

_"Thank you, Felicity," he replied, winking at her and trying to hold the eye contact just a second longer. She only gave him a small smile before starting to prepare the next drink._

_Astounded, he left the small coffee shop, heading back to his office. No woman had ever been immune to his charm or smile, but Felicity didn't seem to care. He was even more intrigued by her, if that was possible, and she didn't leave his mind all day._

 

Now, a week later, he still only got small smiles from her. Every single workday since last Tuesday, he went to the small coffee shop and had lunch there. Yes, he actually sat there, eating some kind of pastry or sandwich and drinking his coffee, glancing at her every now and then.

Even her co-workers noticed. He saw them, whispering in her ear, discreetly pointing in his direction. She didn't seem to mind, only nodding and giving them a small smile before continuing with her work.

He tried everything. He complimented her on her dresses and her eyes. He even told her that he liked the color of her fingernails. Felicity, however, simply smiled at him, muttering a small 'Thank you' before returning to her work.

Entering the coffee shop, he already had another compliment worked up. He wasn't going to give up easily. Scanning the little counter area for her, he deflated when he noticed she wasn't there.

He ordered a coffee and a sandwich, trying to hide his disappointment, but apparently, he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"She's sitting over there. It's her lunch break," the blonde barista, Sara, told him, nodding her head to the back of the shop.

Surprised, he looked up at her after glancing to the back and seeing Felicity sitting at one of the tables.

"Thank you," he said, smiling brightly.

Today was his lucky day. He waited impatiently for his coffee and sandwich, the process seeming to take twice as long today. Finally, someone called his name and he snatched the two things before heading to her table.

Taking a deep breath, he stopped in front of her.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked, giving her one of his charming smiles.

Confused, Felicity looked up at him. She was reading a book, but quickly closed it and put it in her bag at the sight of him.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" He apologized, sitting down at the opposite side of the table without waiting for her answer. "I just saw you sitting here alone and thought that you might enjoy the company."

She raised her eyebrows and nervously fiddled with her coffee cup. "What made you think I wasn't enjoying my book?" She responded, taking him aback.

"Alright, you caught me. I've been trying to get you to talk to me for a week now, and all I get are little smiles. Don't get me wrong, they're cute, but what does it take to have a conversation with you?" Oliver confessed, taking a sip from his coffee.

"I'm not your type, Mr. Queen. You're clearly talking to the wrong person," she countered, grabbing her coffee and getting ready to leave.

"What? Wait, no Felicity," he called out, grabbing her arm to keep her in place. "You totally misunderstood me. I only want to talk to you, no strings attached. Please," he implored, using his grip on her arm to guide her down to the seat once more. "To be honest, you fascinate me, Felicity, and I would really like to get to know you. Give me one chance, and if I blow it, I won't bother you again."

She eyed him suspiciously and toyed with her coffee cup again. She seemed like she was having an inner battle with herself, debating whether she should say 'Yes' or 'No'.

Oliver just looked hopefully at her. What was he supposed to do if she said no? He hadn't considered that and already cursed himself for it. He didn't want to give up on her, and he was sure she was single. She wasn't wearing a ring, and she would have told him by now if she had a boyfriend.

He looked at her again and she still seemed unsure.

"Please, Felicity. Let's just talk and then you can decide. There's no harm in that, is there?" He tried to persuade her, leaning forward and giving her an innocent smile.

"Why me? I'm not a leggy model or some kind of rich heiress; I work in a coffee shop and live a simple life. There's nothing special about me, Mr. Queen. So why the sudden interest?" She asked, lowering her eyes. 

"That's the whole point, Felicity. You aren't like those women. You obviously don't care about what I think. Or about anything else I do, for that matter. You intrigue me, and I would really like to get to know you better," he admitted, trying to catch her eyes again.

The blonde gazed at him across the table, wonder and surprise marking her face. Lowering her eyes once more, she took a deep breath.

"I'll probably regret this, but I'm going to give you one chance, Mr. Queen. I still don't understand it, but the moment I think you're using me... I'm out. I won't change for you," she stated, looking him square in the eyes.

Oliver's small smile stretched into a huge grin. "You won't regret this," he swore gently, taking a relieved sip from his coffee.

She nodded, a soft smile on her lips that warmed his insides.

He held out his hand to her, introducing himself.

"Hi, I'm Oliver Queen. It's nice to meet you."

"Felicity Smoak. It's nice to meet you too," the barista said, shaking his hand. Little did she know that Oliver Queen was going to turn her life upside down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think. Today we're a day early because I'm kind of busy tomorrow.
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> I'll post a chapter every Wednesday.

**March 5th, 2015**

"Alright, gentlemen. Thank you for coming today and I hope to hear from you soon," Oliver said, standing to finish the meeting. He smoothed a hand over his suit jacket before offering it to the potential investor to shake.

"I will discuss your offer with my people and you'll hear from me by the end of next week, Mr. Queen," the man assured him, briefly gripping his hand before leaving the board room with his associates.

Oliver turned to Martha as she collected the forgotten papers on the conference room table. "I'm going to take my lunch break; you should, too."

Martha nodded absently, intent on her task. He waited for her to finish, walking to the elevator with her after she'd tucked the papers into a folder.

"I'll bring you a coffee when I come back?" He offered, ushering her through the open elevator doors before him.

"You don't have to, Mr. Queen," she answered as the door slid closed and the elevator began the trip back up to his office. "They fixed the coffee machine in the break room yesterday."

They were entering Martha's office when her phone started to ring. She glanced to him apologetically. "I'm sorry, I have to take this. It's my husband."

He indicated she should take the call, making his way into his office. He looked over the schedule for the afternoon, pleased to see that he wasn't going to have many meetings. Distracted, he allowed his gaze to shift to the window before realizing he had forgotten the time. Looking at his watch, he saw it was quarter past noon.

Shit. He was supposed to meet Felicity 15 minutes ago for their first lunch together. He quickly grabbed his wallet while heading out of his office. Despite his hasted, he doubled back when he heard his assistant calmly talking on the phone.

"It's alright, Daniel. I'll call the babysitter right now and she'll pick Amy up," Martha said, ending the call. She leaned back and puffed out some air.

"Is everything ok, Martha?" Oliver asked, brow furrowing. Amy was Martha's daughter. Any phone call about her when she was supposed to be safely in preschool wasn't good.

"Amy's sick. Usually, my husband could go get her, but he is in an important meeting. I'll just call the babysitter," she replied, typing a new number into her phone.

Oliver shook his head, stopping her. "No, Martha. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? There's just two more meetings and I can manage those without you. Go and be with your daughter."

"Oh no," she deflected with a dismissive flap of her hand, "My babysitter can pick her up. There's so much work to do today and..."

"And all of that can wait until tomorrow," he interrupted her gently. "As your boss, I'm telling you now to take the rest of the day off. No back talk!" He insisted, giving her a soft smile.

Sometimes he wasn't sure, if Martha realized how much she helped him. He was more than thankful for it, and the least he could do was to help her out on occasion. Granted, it was the first time he'd heard about Amy being sick, but he made a note to talk to her about stuff like that. In his childhood, his parents were never home when he was sick, no matter how much he wished they were. Every child probably wanted that, and he felt good about helping to give Amy something he'd never gotten.

He watched Martha while she engaged in another internal battle; apparently, it was one of her things. After a couple of seconds, she nodded in defeat and thanked him.

Oliver looked at his watch again; he was more than 20 minutes late now. He sighed and headed for the elevator, holding it open for Martha as well.

The one day it was actually important to be on time, he managed to be late again. Hopefully Felicity would understand.

Once outside of Queen Consolidated, he made it to the coffee shop in record time. Upon entering, he immediately scanned the room for Felicity and he found her sitting at one of the tables in the front. Making his way over to her, he noticed the two coffee cups in front of her. She had already gotten him a coffee and he was almost half an hour late.

Why did he always manage to screw everything up?

He reached her table and silently sat down. She looked at him calmly and pushed one of the cups over to him.

"And here I thought I dreamed you almost begging me to talk to you yesterday," Felicity greeted him. Oliver opened his mouth to apologize, but she didn't seem to notice, continuing in the next breath. "It was weird enough. I mean you're Oliver Queen, CEO of one of the biggest companies in the country, and I work in a coffee shop. Not that I don't like working here. You get free coffee and I love coffee. I drink way too much every day and it makes me pee a lot." Stopping to finally take a breath, Felicity cringed. "Oh no, you didn't need to know that. I really have to stop talking now before this gets more embarrassing... "

Oliver chuckled softly and smiled at her. "I'm sorry for being late. The meeting ran long and I know this isn't a good excuse, but it's actually true."

"I believe you. As I said, you're the CEO of a big company, and the company comes first," she assured, taking a sip from her coffee.

"I still feel bad about it. I would like to promise you that it won't happen again, but I won't because I'll probably be made a liar if I do. Those business men know how to talk and sometimes, I think they like to hear themselves talk. It's rather annoying," he replied, shaking his head.

Felicity laughed softly. "You don't have to convince me of that. I think half of QC comes here every day, and as a barista you hear all different kinds of things. Mostly, they complain about their co-workers having bigger offices. Sometimes, there's talk about their latest conquest. Trust me, you don't want to know what your employees do in a copy room sometimes."

"I'll take your word for it. As bad as it sounds, I'm happy that I have my own floor and private elevator. Don't get me wrong, I value my employees, but I have no clue about the company and most of the time I can't answer their questions. Martha, my EA, usually helps out, but I can't expect her to follow my every step. So, it is nice to be invisible sometimes," he admitted.

Felicity gave him a sympathetic smile, clearly not sure how to answer. They were silent for a while until Oliver's phoned chimed. He picked it up, opening the text message.

"Sorry, it's from my sister, Thea. She's a bit rebellious these days, always trying to make my mother angry. She didn't take our father's death well," Oliver apologized, taking a deep breath. "A few weeks ago, I got a call from the police station in the middle of the night, asking me to pick her up. She was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs."

 

_It was 2AM, an ungodly hour to be woken by his ringing phone._

_He rolled onto his back and picked up. "Hello?"_

_"Mr. Queen? This is Officer Daniels. I need you to come to the station," a grouchy voice told him. Immediately, Oliver sat up in bed, wide awake and alert._

_"What happened? Is my mother ok? Did something happen to Thea?" He asked quickly, jumping up and looking for a pair of pants._

_"Your sister has been arrested for driving under the influence, Mr. Queen," the detective explained._

_"I'm on my way," he promised before hanging up and running through his apartment, tugging a shirt on. He grabbed his keys and made his way to the car._

_Twenty minutes later, he entered the police station. One of the officers was already waiting for him, taking him to a separate room where Thea was sitting._

_"Thea! Are you alright?" He asked, kneeling in front of her. She had a bruise on her forehead and there was blood on the sleeve of her jacket._

_"I'm fine, Ollie," she answered harshly, looking annoyed as hell._

_"Miss Queen claimed that someone must have spiked her drink. She didn't realize anything was wrong until she was driving and crashed into the other car just a few minutes later," Daniels clarified. "It isn't the first time we've heard complaints about spiked drinks in this particular club, and a couple of patrons were arrested tonight. There's no reason not to believe your sister was a victim here, so we aren't actually charging her."_

_"Can I take her home, then?" Oliver asked the officer as he stood up._

_"Yes, but she has to come back tomorrow to give another statement and see if she can help identify who might have slipped her the drugs. There will have to be some sort of consequence for the accident, but I'm sure your family's lawyer will be in contact."_

_Oliver nodded and pulled his sister up. She shrugged his hand away and headed to the entrance of the station. Thanking the officer once more, he hurried to catch up with her, not really surprised when she refused to acknowledge him._

_Once they were outside, he predated her to the car, opening the passenger door. When she made to climb in, he stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention._

_"I don't want to know what happened right now, but I am glad you're ok," he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead._

_Thea didn't say anything. She was silent the whole car ride to his apartment, eventually falling asleep against the window. He carried her upstairs and tucked her into the bed in the guestroom before returning to his own. He could deal with the mess she made in the morning._

 

"Oliver?" Felicity asked softly, giving his hand a quick squeeze before pulling back.

He shook his head, coming out of the unpleasant memory.

"You spaced out on me," she explained in a soft voice. "I'm sorry about your sister. Is she alright?"

"Oh, she's… fine. Long story short, someone spiked her drink and she didn't realize anything was wrong until she was already driving. Shortly after she started feeling strange, she crashed the car. The cops couldn't look like they did nothing, so she has to do 200 hours of community service. Maybe it'll help her grow up a little," Oliver sighed. He quickly replied to her text and set his phone to the side.

"Tell me about Thea. Tell me a happy memory you have of her," Felicity encouraged him.

Oliver smiled. He had a lot of happy memories of Thea. "When she was a little girl, I used to chase her through the whole house. She was so fast that I gave her the nickname 'Speedy'. I still call her that sometimes; it makes her incredibly angry. I love her more than anything and I would do everything for her."

It was true. Thea had the purest heart in the family and was always trying to make everyone happy. Her methods were not always the most conventional ones but Oliver knew she meant well.

"She sounds like a great person," Felicity assured him. "She is. She is just dealing with our father's death differently," he paused.

"Well, anyway. Enough about my sad life. Tell me something about yourself, Felicity."

The blonde chuckled nervously. "There is not much to tell. I grew up in Las Vegas, and now here I am, working in a coffee shop. Nothing really interesting about my life."

Oliver sensed her anxiety and changed the topic of conversation once more. "How do you like working here?"

Felicity seemed to relax and gave him a smile. "It's not my dream job, but it's certainly interesting. I love coffee and… I already told you that, but anyway. The hours aren't too bad and I'm happy."

Figuring it was a good subject, he asked her a few more questions about her job, listening carefully as she answered them. He quickly learned that she had a tendency to ramble. Though she insisted that it was embarrassing, he found it rather cute.

Too soon, his lunch break was over.

"Felicity, hold on," he stopped her after saying goodbye. "Give me your number so I can text you if I should be late again."

The blonde hesitated before grabbing his phone and typing in her number.

Oliver flashed her a wide smile and called her quickly, so she got his number too.

"Thanks. I will see you tomorrow," he told her before heading out of the coffee shop.

Maybe their first lunch wasn't too bad. She still agreed to talk to him, and that was all he wanted.

Entering Queen Consolidated, he headed straight to the elevator. He was just stepping inside when he remembered that Martha wasn't going to be here this afternoon. It was going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think. This chapter is once again early because I'll be on vacation next week and therefore I'll post the next chapter on Sunday already.  
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!

**March 18th, 2015**

For the two weeks following their first, slightly awkward lunch, the pair met for lunch every workday. They fell into a regular pattern, with Oliver texting her before he left the office and Felicity waiting to greet him with a coffee and a smile.

It was fairly easy to talk to her, the words flowing out of his mouth and without struggle. Her babbling made him laugh, and more than once he caught himself staring at her plump, pink lips. On those occasions, he had to remind himself of his promise.

Most of the time, they talked about their days and their jobs. Neither Felicity nor he talked about their pasts by unspoken agreement, and Oliver was more than fine with it. The only thing he knew was that she was born in Vegas.

It was a little after noon on Wednesday when Oliver finally walked into Small World Coffee, ordering his usual. He spotted Felicity sitting in the back of the small coffee shop, waving at him with a smile on her face.

Undoubtedly, Felicity was the main reason for his daily visit, but he had to say the coffee was also really good. The shop itself even managed to surprise him. Although it was small, it had a fair amount of costumers coming and going each day. The design was simple and light compared to chains like Starbucks, with soft colors, giving off a warm and welcoming feeling. This seemed especially true now, in the springtime, which was probably another reason everybody seemed to prefer it.

Collecting his coffee, Oliver made his way over to Felicity. "Hard day at work, Mr. Queen?" She asked, smiling as he sat down.

"You have no idea. I can't tell you how much I regret dropping out of every college, my parents sent me to. They wanted the best for me, and my foolish self didn't feel the need to listen to them. I could really use a business degree for this whole CEO thing," Oliver admitted, drinking a large sip of his coffee.

Felicity lowered her eyes, nervously fiddling with her own cup.

"I never finished my degree, either. I had one semester left at MIT before ... Before I had to drop out because of some personal stuff. That's why I work in a coffee shop now instead of a big company. Not that I am complaining about my life now. I really like my life and I don't regret any of my choices," she confessed with a quiet voice.

Oliver grabbed her hand, seeing the sadness in her eyes; it was obviously upsetting her. Curious as he was about what happened, he knew better than to push. She still struggled with sharing, and pressing her for an explanation wouldn't help that. Maybe she didn't trust him enough just yet to tell him the whole truth, but he was hoping they would get there.

"The past is the past. You can't change it," he admired her outlook before changing the subject, "How was your day so far?"

"The usual. Nothing really happened here," she replied, visibly relaxing at the change of subject. He let out a relieved breath that she was once again smiling at him.

They chatted for a while longer, but were cut off when Oliver realized that he needed to get back to his office.

"I'm sorry, Felicity. I need to head back," he told her, standing up and grabbing his half empty coffee cup.

"It's all right, my shift starts in ten minutes," she responded, standing up as well and smoothing the skirt of her blue dress. Oliver noted it matched her eyes perfectly, as did her nails. Her hair was done in her usual ponytail, bobbing as she turned her head to survey the shop.

She was so beautiful that he couldn't resist any longer. Before he could convince himself it was a bad idea, he stepped closer and gently stroked her cheek with his index finger.

"Go out to dinner with me, Felicity," he whispered, staring into the blonde's eyes.

Felicity shuddered, nervously shifting from one foot to the other.

"Oliver... I can't. There are things you don't know about me and I can't tell you. It's not fair," she mumbled, taking a small step backwards.

"I don't care, Felicity. I have a past too, and I did some things I'm not proud of, trust me. Give me a chance, Felicity. It's just one date. If you still believe that you can't tell me, I'm not going to ask you again," he promised her, taking hold of her hand and gently squeezing it.

"Oliver, this is more than just my past," she tried one more time, but he interrupted her.

"One date, Felicity. I'm not going to give up on you, trust me. I can be very persistent."

The young woman gazed at their interlaced hands before looking back up to him.

"One date, Oliver. And we are going to meet at the restaurant. No buts," the blue-eyed woman sighed, crossing her arms.

The billionaire beamed at her, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

"I'll text you the address. See you tonight, Felicity," he called as he ran out of the coffee shop, giving her no time to argue. He was one lucky man.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the day seemed to take twice as long. The moment he was back in his office, Oliver reserved a table at one of the local, low-key restaurants, hoping nobody would spot him there. Since becoming CEO of Queen Consolidated, he wasn't the goldmine of gossip he used to be, so there wasn't a group of photographers following him everywhere anymore. Regardless, he didn't want to take the chance and made sure to get a private table set up.

Hopefully, the press wouldn't find out about him dating someone new. They would probably paint it as a big comeback to his playboy life, and that was the last thing he wanted. Felicity was special. He had every intention of making this one date count so he would be able to see her again.

He couldn't really comprehend what was happening to him. All he could think about was how beautiful Felicity was and how she was able to make him laugh. His day wasn't complete until she'd smiled at him at least four times. He had never felt like this in his life.

Since his father's death, smiles and laughter were rare for him. His family was drowning in grief, allowing it to drive wedges between them. In effort to keep moving forward, they still had their weekly Thursday dinners, but the conversation was always strained. Most of the time, it ended with Thea leaving the table after another fight with their mother.

Meeting Felicity was a light at the end of the long, black tunnel he seemed to be stuck in. She was proof that there was something better, happier out there beyond the sadness weighing him down. Their lunches were the only thing he truly looked forward to. Sitting across from her even for half an hour each day made him feel like he could live his life again.

It was crazy. He'd only know her for about three weeks and already couldn't imagine his life without her. Of course, he wouldn't tell her that now, maybe not ever. He really didn't want to scare her away.

This whole dating thing was way harder than he expected. He was constantly fighting his nerves, and he actually had to watch what he was saying. Wooing someone required a lot of effort, more than he put in to his conquests during his playboy days. It was nothing like some of the chick flick movies Thea made him watch. For once in his life, not everything was about him.

 

* * *

 

After two more meetings, he left the office in the car his mother insisted on getting for him when he took over the company five months ago. She also insisted on hiring John Diggle, a bodyguard and driver, to go with the car, fearing for her son's safety now that he was such a publicly powerful figure. Not wanting to upset her, Oliver agreed under the condition that he was allowed to choose himself. When John Diggle turned out to be not only a good bodyguard but also a great friend, Oliver was pleased with his decision. More than once, he found himself confiding in John. The other man always listened patiently to his problems and concerns, offering opinions and advice when he could.

 

_Oliver was having one of the worst days he'd had in a while. One of the busiest days of the week, and Martha called in sick. It wasn't her fault, and he wasn't mad at her, but it was the worst luck._

_Human Resources sent him a replacement assistant who messed up his schedule, double-booking him for two meeting at once. It only escalated from there. By the time 5pm came, he gave up and left his office._

_Diggle was waiting in the car outside of Queen Consolidated and it didn't take him more than one look at him to sense his terrible mood. "You look like crap, man. Bad day, huh?"_

_"Don't even get me started. Sometimes I really don't know why I'm doing this job," he sighed, rubbing his hands over his face._

_"I tell you what. Lyla is cooking tonight, and trust me, she doesn't do that often. How about you come over and have dinner with us?" Diggle suggested. "_

_It's alright; I don't want to intrude," he replied tiredly. "_

_You won't. I'm insisting, Queen," the driver answered._

_Oliver, too tired to argue with him just then, gave in._

_Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Diggle's place. A small house with a large backyard, it was in one of the quieter neighborhoods of Starling City._

_When they entered, Oliver saw Lyla sitting at the dining table with their five-month-old baby, Sara, in her arms. After removing his jacket, John crossed to the pair and picked his daughter up. He kissed her on the head and whispered something to her that Oliver couldn't hear. Then, he pressed a small kiss to Lyla's lips before turning to him once more._

_"Lyla, this is Oliver. Oliver, this is my ex-wife and current girlfriend, Lyla," Diggle introduced them._

_Though they hadn't formally met before, Oliver had managed to get their story out of his friend once. Not that it took much effort on his part. They met in Afghanistan on one of John's three tours. They got married, but ultimately decided that it wouldn't work. After John had come back from his last tour, though, the pair reconnected and rekindled their romance. Things were going well when Lyla got pregnant with Sara, and the addition of the baby only strengthened their relationship._

_To his surprise, Lyla came over and hugged Oliver. When she pulled back, her lips tugged upward at his expression. "Don't look so shocked. I'm a mother, and you look like you need a hug. You're also a good boss and friend to Johnny. I have him home every night to tuck our daughter in, and in my books, that means you deserve a hug."_

_Oliver nodded and gave her a small smile. "It's nice to meet you. John talks about you all the time."_

_It was true. Diggle did talk a lot about Lyla and Sara. Sometimes, it made Oliver a bit envious. Diggle had a family he cared about, and they obviously cared for him, too. He had someone to go home to every night. At times, Oliver found himself wishing for this stability, too. He had Thea and his mother, sure, but he didn't live with them anymore._

_Seeing Lyla, Diggle, and Sara together like this, with Lyla setting the table while John cradled their daughter in his arms, made his heart yearn for this life. Sara looked so content in her father's arms, slowly drifting off to a peaceful slumber as the man made his way over to where Oliver stood._

_"Don't worry, man. You'll find someone to settle down with. You're young, and you have all the time in the world," Diggle told him, patting his shoulder twice._

_Damn, his bodyguard knew him too well. He was also right, though. He was only twenty-five; there was more than enough time. He had just gotten his first stable job, as over his head as it might be, and he had to learn to be a good CEO before he thought of anything beyond work._

_Sighing, he forced a smile and nodded before they went over to the dining table, determined to pick his mood back up._

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was 6.30pm when Oliver left his apartment, making his way to the waiting car. His hands were sweating, and John sent him a knowing smile from where he stood in front of the car.

"Well, if I didn't know better, I would say Oliver Queen is a nervous wreck. That has to be a first," John chuckled, getting into the car.

"Shut up, Diggle. I'm not nervous, just happy," Oliver countered, climbing into the car himself.

"Of course, Queen," he smirked, starting the car.

"I just don't want to mess this up, Diggle. She's special and I really like her," he confessed, rubbing his hands together.

In a million years, he would have never thought that he would say anything like that in his life. He never cared about what other people thought of him, but right now, it made him extremely nervous not knowing what was going on in Felicity's head.

Sure, they talked about a lot of stuff during their coffee dates (which weren't really dates), and he knew most of the basic stuff about her (the most important being that she was allergic to peanuts), but a lot of the finer details remained fuzzy or completely blank.

For instance, he ran down to the flower shop earlier, wanting to pick up some flowers for tonight. When he got there, he realized he didn't know what her favorite kind was. Usually, he was good at guessing, but he wanted tonight to be perfect, so he decided against it. He wasn't going to ruin this by bringing her flowers she hated.

He didn't even realize that they already pulled in front of the restaurant until the car stopped. Diggle turned around, chuckling when he caught sight of his face. "Man, you have it bad for this girl. I need to meet her."

"Whatever. Wish me luck," Oliver replied and got out of the car. He really appreciated Diggle's attempt to make him less nervous, but it just reminded him of why the nerves were there in the first place.

He took a deep breath and entered the restaurant. Luckily for him, she wasn't there yet, so he ordered himself a scotch, hoping to cool his nerves.

Their table was in the far corner of the restaurant with just a few other people around them. It was semi-private, not really what Oliver had hoped for, but it was good enough. Of course, he could have gotten a table at one of the fancier restaurants in town, but he really did not want to overwhelm Felicity on their first date.

They hadn't talked about the fact that he was a billionaire, and it was not one of his favorite subjects. He learned that money couldn't get him everything right after his father died, and since then he tried to be more grateful for what he had.

Checking his watch, he saw that he was here relatively early, which wasn't a common occurrence until a few weeks ago. He actually learned that the hard way when he arrived late to an important meeting at Queen Consolidated and poor Martha had to push all his meetings back that day. The shift meant he had to stay until after 7pm, and he was more than exhausted when he finally went back to his apartment. He was never late again.

His hands nervously smoothed down his tie and he took a sip from his scotch, letting his gaze wander around the restaurant. It landed on the entrance just in time to see Felicity stepping through the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think. 
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> As promised, there is a new chapter today because I'll be on vacation this week. And since I do tend to have more time on Sundays, I'll make Sunday my official update date!
> 
> We're moving along with the story and most of you actually guessed right, no big surprise there! Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets for each chapter! (I'll upload the ones from the first and second chapter when I come back!)

**March 18th, 2015**

Felicity Smoak was the most beautiful woman, Oliver had ever seen. It was all he could think of as she gave her coat to the hostess, revealing a fitted red dress that charmed her small figure in just the right places. They pointed her in his direction and once she spotted him, her matching red lips turned up into a smile. She started to make her way down to their table, her graceful steps drawing Oliver's attention to her legs. They seemed longer than usual, thanks to her golden stilettos. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat before standing up, his face lightening up with a board smile.

By the time she was standing right in front of him, his eyes had tracked to her face. For the first time, he was able to appreciate her beautiful blue eyes unobscured by her usual glasses. All of the sudden, he didn't know what to do. Should he give her a kiss on the cheek, shake her hand, or give her a hug?

"Hi," she whispered quietly, shyly averting her eyes.

"Hi, Felicity," he replied, deciding to go with a kiss on the cheek. Apparently, she had the same idea, and they awkwardly bumped their heads together. A muffled 'ouch' left Felicity's mouth and he winced.

"I'm sorry!" His words came in unison with Felicity's own apology. They both chuckled softly at the slightly awkward situation.

"I didn't mean to," he elaborated in the ensuing silence.

Felicity waved him off with a smile. "No, it's alright. I'm so clumsy sometimes."

Oliver returned her smile, reaching out to gently cup her cheek. As he did, his fingers brushed the soft, curly hair framing her face. To avoid another mishap, he slowly pressed his lips to her other cheek and pulled back to meet her gaze once more, murmuring, "You look beautiful."

"Thank you. You look good, too," the young woman returned, sitting down at the table.

He took his own seat, smoothing down his gray suit jacket and blue tie. Their waiter stopped by before the silence between them grew too long, and Oliver ordered some red wine.

"I'm sorry; I'm a little out of my element. It's been a while," Oliver chuckled nervously and emptied his scotch with one last sip.

"I know," Felicity replied. "It's ridiculous. I mean, what do we have to be nervous about? We've already exhausted all first, second, and third date topics while having coffee, and you've already been exposed to my bad habit of babbling. Technically, there's nothing to be nervous about, but my hands are still sweating like crazy." She paused briefly. "Oh god, you didn't need to know that. Feel free to shut me up anytime now." She stopped and leaned her forehead against her hand, letting her gaze fall to the table.

"Felicity, hey." He took her hand in his. "First of all, I would never shut you up. I actually find it rather cute. Second, I think it's ok to be nervous."

She gave him a small smile and gingerly stroked his knuckles with her thumb. Oliver's heart started to beat faster at her small touch and he hoped that she would never stop doing that. The simple gesture made warmth bubble in his chest, leaving him speechless.

The waiter returned with their wine before long and interrupted the moment. Felicity withdrew her hand, leaving him feeling cold and empty. As the waiter retreated, she took a small sip, her lips pressing together as she hummed appreciatively.

"I love red wine. Back in college, my roommate and I used to buy a bottle of red wine and two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream at one of the corner stores whenever we had a movie night. We had so much fun," the blonde woman confessed, her lips curving in a fond smile.

"You said you went to MIT. What did you study?" Oliver wanted to know. He mentally slapped himself a second later. She seemed really upset about it last time. Hoping to rectify the possible misstep, he rushed to say, "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"It's okay. I actually studied computer science and wanted to do my masters in cyber security. I started to take apart computers when I was seven years old and it just stuck with me. Now I can pretty much make a person disappear with just a few clicks. Not that I ever did that."

Felicity's eyes slid to the side after her final, muttered comment, and she pursed her lips before taking another sip from her wine.

Oliver chuckled. "Good to know. I better watch what I say now."

Her head ducked as she laughed along with him before sobering. "I don't think you'll end up on the receiving end of my wrath. You're a good guy, and you're dedicated to your job."

"That's one word for it," he muttered.

She tilted her head to the side. "You don't like it?"

"It's more that I'm not suited for it. I honestly don't know what I'm good at." He paused for a second, trying to sort out his next words. He glanced at the table before settling on, "I can assure you that being CEO of one of the biggest companies in the country is not it. It doesn't make me happy, either, but it was the only logical step I could take after my father died. My sister is too young and my mother is too wrapped up in her grief. Someone had to be the strong one who takes charge, and that just happened to be me. My parents built the company from nothing; I couldn't let it disintegrate." He took a deep breath and released sigh. "So, I stepped up as CEO and here I am spilling my guts to you on our first date. I'm sorry, Felicity. I'm really bad at this whole dating thing," Oliver apologized, for the second time this night.

What was wrong with him? He was seriously screwing this up. Why did he have to start with this whole family drama thing? She was probably not interested in any of it, and yet he kept telling her about his broken family.

He was so accustomed to her reluctance to talk about her personal life, that he was thoroughly surprised when she spoke up. "I happen to know a thing or two about family drama. If I had followed in my mother's footsteps, I would be a cocktail waitress in Vegas. My father left us when I was little, and now I..." She paused, taking a deep, fortifying breath. "All I am saying is that you don't have to be anything that you don't want to be. It's your life which makes it your choice.

"Was my mother angry when I told her that I was going to MIT? Oh yes, she was furious. But it was my choice. Eventually, it'll get easier. I'm not saying that you should quit being CEO, I just think you should think about what makes you really happy," she finished, looking into his eyes for the first time since she'd started talking.

'You. You make me happy.' Oliver thought immediately. Who could dislike this compassionate, selfless woman sitting in front of him? Nobody ever told him to do his own thing. His parents wanted him to take over as CEO for as long as he could remember. When he was a child, he liked to pretend to be his dad. He even went into work with him, wearing a suit and tie identical to his. The first day he did it, his father beamed with pride. It was the first time Oliver could recall eliciting the emotion from the man, and he wanted nothing more than to see it again. From that day on, all he wanted to do was make his parents happy.

He never quite managed it, though. As he moved into adulthood, his desires grew increasingly distant from their expectations. He didn't fit into any of the colleges they sent him to. All the people there were serious about learning, and even when he tried to listen, he didn't understand a thing. It couldn't hold his attention, no matter how hard he tried. After a while, he gave up. What was the point in learning something he wasn't really interested in, anyway?

"Thank you for saying that, Felicity. It means a lot to me," Oliver said, grabbing her hand once again. She gave him a soft smile and the moment was broken when their waiter came to take their orders.

* * *

The conversation carried on over the course of the meal, their plates emptying far too soon for Oliver's liking.

He helped Felicity into her coat, reaching to take her hand once she buttoned it up. Her eyes flicked to his face in surprise, but she didn't pull away. Oliver took it as a good sign, tightening his grip as they exited the restaurant and spotted Diggle's car.

"Did you drive here?" He asked Felicity.

"No, I took a cab," Felicity replied, turning to face him. She seemed ready to say goodbye, but Oliver had other plans.

"Then we are going to drive you home," the billionaire stated, tugging her towards the car by the hand.

"No, Oliver. I can take a cab. I'm sure it is out of your way," she hedged. She obviously hadn't realized how stubborn Oliver was.

"Felicity, I don't care if it's out of my way. I'll feel better knowing that you got home safe, and don't tell me you are going to text me. I'm not going to change my mind."

"Oliver, please ..."

"No, I promise you that I'll be the perfect gentlemen. I will walk you to your door and tell you what a wonderful evening I had and then I am going to leave, alright?"

"You really don't need to," Felicity tried one more time, but he didn't budge.

"Get in the car, Felicity. We are going to drive you home, no more arguments," he declared, pushing her gently into the car before he climbed in himself.

"Evening, Mr. Queen," Diggle greeted them, nodding his head and looking in the rearview mirror, giving Felicity a polite smile.

"Diggle, we're going to bring Felicity home," Oliver told him, reclaiming Felicity's hand and running his thumb over her knuckles.

Felicity, finally resigned to the inevitability of a ride home, told Diggle her address and they started driving.

The drive was quiet, Oliver's eyes focused on the stunning woman next to him while Felicity looked out the window. She seemed content and Oliver was glad that she enjoyed herself. Maybe he had a chance after all.

Upon arrival at Felicity's apartment, Oliver helped her out of the car. Slowly, they walked up the few stairs in front of the house and Felicity took her key out of her purse. She was about to put it in the lock when Oliver stilled her hands, turning her to face him.

"I had a wonderful evening, Felicity," the billionaire confessed, framing her face with his hands and tenderly stroking her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Oliver..." Felicity whispered, lowering her eyes.

"Felicity, this is not the time for talking," Oliver muttered, leaning his forehead against hers. Being so close to her was killing him. Her scent was intoxicating; her skin was as soft as a feather. Every nerve in his body was aware of how close she was standing.

"Please, Oliver, don't make this any harder," she tried one more time, but he didn't have any of it.

"This isn't hard, Felicity. What I feel for you, I have never felt before. I'm falling for you, hard and fast," the young man breathed, angling his face closer to hers.

Before she could reply, he pressed his mouth onto hers. His stomach flipped, and he could feel every nerve ending ignite. Her lips were as soft as he imagined them to be and she tasted like a mix of red wine and vanilla. Her hand fisted his shirt and she relaxed the slightest just as he broke away from her. Their lips hovered over each other, breathing the same air for just a second longer, before he pulled away further, looking into her stunned face. She slowly opened her eyes, slightly dazed and his lips tugged upwards by just an inch.

For a moment, they stared into each other's eyes, until Felicity shook her head, stepping back, her hands leaving his chest and their warmth with them, leaving him feeling cold.

"No, Oliver. This can't happen," she started, looking straight into his eyes. "I told you that you don't know everything about me and this isn't fair."

"I told you, I don't care, Felicity. Everyone has a past," Oliver tried to soothe her, pulling her closer again.

"You don't understand. This is more than just my past. It still affects me and if I tell you, you're going to run away just like everybody else. I like you, but I can't ask you to get involved in my life right now. It's too complicated."

"I'm serious, Felicity. I don't care. My life is complicated, too. My father died, and I'm the CEO of a company I have no clue about. Every day, I try to be a better man and at the end of the day, it's still not enough. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I won't judge you."

"I'm not going to put another burden on your shoulders."

"You are not a burden, Felicity. Please just tell me, what is bothering you so much?" Oliver coaxed her, looking into her distressed eyes, trying to frame her face again.

Felicity, however, pushed his hands away, taking another step back. She seemed angry now.

"Why can't you just believe me? Why do you have to be so stubborn all the time?" She asked furiously, fisting his shirt in her hands.

"You don't think I see what you're doing? You're shutting everyone out, afraid that someone might actually like you. Well, guess what Felicity? It's too late. I saw you and I more than just like you," he responded and pulled her closer again, framing her face with his hands.

"You don't know me at all, Oliver. You really want to know why this is never going to work?" She raised her voice. "I have a daughter, an eight month old baby girl who is going to wake up in the next half hour for a feeding and a kiss goodnight. I'm one of those stupid girls who got knocked up in college and had to drop out. She changed everything, but I never regret keeping her because she's the best thing that's happened to me.

"The moment her father found out, he bailed. He told me that he never wanted to see either of us again, so I left and came to Starling. Now here I am, working at a coffee shop, trying to give her the life she deserves." Felicity paused, her eyes getting watery. As her gaze fell to the ground, so did the beginnings of tears. "This is exactly why we are never going to work. You have a reputation to uphold, and I- we don't fit there. I'm a package deal, and as much as I like you, I also understand that we come from two different worlds."

Oliver stared down at her, speechless. His grip on her face relaxed involuntarily even as he tried to say something, anything, but the words got stuck in his throat.

"That's what I thought. Don't worry. I understand, Oliver. A child doesn't fit in your life, and she certainly doesn't fit with your reputation. Just go," Felicity sobbed before pulling his hands from her face. Turning around, she quickly opened her door and disappeared inside, slamming the door in his face.

Oliver's shoulders slumped, a muffled 'Felicity' leaving his lips too late for her to hear.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think.
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> Back from vacation with a new chapter. I had a great time, saw the Grand Canyon and it was just breathtaking.
> 
> I would never let them stay apart for too long, so here we go! Enjoy and tell me what you think! Next chapter will be up on Friday!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets for each chapter! (I'll upload the ones from the first and second chapter when I come back!)

**March 19th, 2015**

Oliver didn't sleep that night. His mind was too crowded with thoughts of Felicity as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't that.

Once he'd finally convinced his feet to take him back to the car, his brain kicked into high gear, trying to comprehend what she just confessed to him. He was so consumed with it that he barely acknowledged Diggle as the man opened the door for him. Luckily, he knew Oliver well enough not to question his abrupt change in mood.

She had a baby. Felicity Smoak had an eight-month-old daughter.

All of the sudden, everything made so much more sense. Why she repeatedly told him it wasn't a good idea for them to meet. Why she insisted that she wasn't his type and didn't fit into his life. He finally understood why she rejected him so vehemently over and over again.

She thought it wasn't going to work out between them. But was she right? Was it really over?

Did his feelings for her change because she had a baby?

She was still the same woman he got to know over the last few weeks. She was still the same girl he spent his lunch breaks with, the conversation flowing between them in ways it hadn't with anyone else. They had a great time at dinner; did the knowledge of her daughter really change any of that?

The fact of the matter was that he trusted her, regardless of how counterintuitive it might seem given the eight-month-old secret she'd been keeping. It was rare for him to find people he trusted these days. Adding that to how he felt about her…

She pulled feelings from him that he didn't know he could have. He wanted to explore them, to spend his free time with her by his side. He wanted her to be the last person he saw before he fell asleep and the first person he saw when he woke up. He was already falling for her and he was sure that it couldn't be stopped. It was too late.

So no, nothing had changed except the fact that she had a child.

She was right, though. Felicity was a package deal. If they started to date, he would meet her daughter sooner or later. It meant, even though he wasn't her father, he would be in the child's life. Hopefully for a long time. He was going to interact with the baby somehow, which meant that he had to be a responsible person. A role model. Was he ready for that?

He desperately wanted to be, but he also knew that life didn't work like that. It was a big responsibility to form a young life, and he'd done some fairly stupid things in his so far.

Felicity was looking for someone who would not only love her, but also her child. And she deserved that. She needed someone who was ready to be with her and her daughter. Someone who could give her the life she deserved.

The question was: Was it going to be him?

* * *

Oliver left his apartment the next morning, suppressing a yawn as he made his way down to where Diggle was waiting for him. Since he hadn't slept anyway, he decided to go in to the office earlier than usual. The other man opened the door to the car when he neared and Oliver slid in quickly.

"Man, you look like crap," Diggle welcomed him, starting the engine.

"That's exactly how I feel," Oliver answered, rubbing his face.

They were silent for a while, leaving Oliver to stare out the window. The drive seemed to take an awfully long time today. Perhaps it was the morning traffic they were stuck in as a result of their early departure.

"She has a baby, John. She got pregnant in college and dropped out," Oliver explained quietly.

John was silent for a minute before he asked, "What are you going to do now? I take it that her slamming the door in your face means the reveal didn't go well."

"What was I supposed to say, Diggle? This is huge. And it's not like she actually gave me time to comprehend it after telling me. She just slammed the door in my face."

"Well, can you blame her? You make her feel special for weeks and after taking her out on a date, she's finally honest with you and you were speechless," the older man countered.

"She only told me because I pushed her. She just wanted to end things between us before anything actually started. She didn't give me a chance."

"A chance to what? What do you want from her, Oliver?"

"I don't know, Dig," he replied angrily. "All I know is that my feelings for her haven't changed. But I also know that she needs someone who can support not only her, but her child. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that." He paused for a second. "How did you know that you were ready to have a child?"

"I didn't. Sara wasn't really planned, but I'll never regret her. The moment I looked at her, I felt like my whole world changed. She's the best thing that happened to us."

Oliver was quiet. He knew for sure that Felicity was the best thing that happened to him in a while and he wasn't sure if he was ready to lose her again.

"Man, I know how you feel about this woman, and you're clearly upset about this whole thing. I don't know her, but from all I have heard, it seems like she likes you too. Yes, you pushed her to tell you, but she doesn't expect anything from you. She just wants you to care for her child as much as you care for her. And man, you are not alone in this. She will always be right there."

They pulled up in front of Queen Consolidated, drawing the conversation to a close. Oliver took a minute to collect himself before smoothing down his jacket and opening the door.

"Thank you, Diggle. I'll see you upstairs."

* * *

The whole morning Oliver sat in his office, staring blankly at different reports. He couldn't concentrate, his thoughts always straying back to his conversation with Diggle. He remembered his dinner with Lyla, Diggle, and Sara a few weeks back and his dream of having the same stability in his life.

He always assumed that with the right woman, he would settle down, get married, and have children, preferably in that order. With Felicity, he had a good shot at working towards that dream. Her already having a daughter skipped some steps in his plan, but did that matter?

His talk with Diggle helped him to understand that there was no such thing as being ready to have a child. Hearing the confession from a father lifted a weight from his shoulders.

Maybe he was ready to be a responsible adult. He had a stable job, his working hours were fine, and he had managed to stay away from the drama for almost a year now.

Moreover, and probably the most important fact of Diggle's speech, however, was that he wasn't going to be alone. Felicity would be by his side the whole time, guiding and teaching him how to take care of a child.

Feeling like he had somehow come to a conclusion, he needed to see Felicity. Luckily, it was his usual lunch hour, so he grabbed his jacket and headed to the coffee shop.

When he entered the little café, he noticed that Felicity was not there. It seemed empty without her. Before he could dwell on it further, a voice called for the next customer. Oliver jolted to awareness, recognizing the blonde woman in front of him once he stepped up to the counter: Sara.

"Grande coffee, please," he ordered, handing her his card. She took it from him with a bit more force than necessary.

"Whatever you did to her, I swear to god, if you don't fix it, I am going to kill you," the small woman lashed out, swiping his card forcefully. "She is miserable and I have never seen Felicity Smoak miserable in my life. Life hasn't been kind to her in the last few years, but I never have I seen her cry like she did last night. You better fix this, Oliver Queen, or you will regret ever talking to her."

Finished, Sara squared her jaw and glared at him as she held his card out. Oliver was too stunned to say anything, so he nodded slightly, bowing his head.

"I will. Can you tell me where she is?" He asked, hoping Sara knew. It seemed like they were best friends, so he might have a good chance.

"She's on her lunch break. Said she needed some fresh air. She probably went to the park around the corner. Remember, though: hurt her and I will hurt you," Sara threatened him one last time before he took his coffee. He muttered a quiet 'thank you' and left the coffee shop, heading in the indicated direction.

* * *

It was a beautiful spring day. The trees were finally turning green, the birds were singing again, and the flowers were blossoming.

Luckily for Oliver, the park was small and it didn't take him long to find her. She was sitting on one of the benches, clad in a red coat with black fabric peeking out from under the hem as she passively watched people walking by, sipping her coffee. She crossed her bare legs, drawing his attention to the black ballerina flats on her feet.

He approached cautiously, sitting down next to her. She closed her eyes and turned her head in the opposite direction.

"What do you want, Oliver? There is nothing I can help you with," she mumbled, fiddling with her coffee cup.

"I want you to accept my apology, Felicity. I was out of line yesterday and I shouldn't have pushed you," he replied, turning his whole body towards her. She kept quiet, which Oliver took as a sign to continue.

"I'm going to be honest with you. You stunned me yesterday and I wasn't sure what to say, but trust me, I was awake all night, blaming myself for not saying anything. I thought a lot about what you told me and I still can't completely wrap my mind around it," he confessed, reaching out to gently take her hand. "You having a daughter obviously changes things, but it doesn't change the way I feel about you and I am willing to give this a chance. To give us a chance." He continued, reassuringly squeezing her hand.

Her head abruptly turned in his direction. Her blue eyes were shimmering with tears and Oliver had to swallow hard. He was not prepared to see the beautiful blonde woman cry. Did he say something wrong?

"Do you really think it's that easy? I don't want to be one of the many girlfriends you leave after you get bored. I can't do that to my daughter. She needs something stable. I can't just leave her with my babysitter every second night so I can meet you. I need someone who wants to be involved in her life," Felicity exclaimed while hastily wiping her tears away.

He scooted closer to her and carefully framed her face with his hands. Wiping her remaining tears away, he tilted her face up.

"I want to give us a chance, Felicity. I won't ask you to leave your daughter to meet me; I would never do that. I want to get to know you better and that includes your daughter. I'm going to be honest with you. I don't know the first thing about children and that scares me, but I'm also serious about us. I meant what I said yesterday; you're driving me crazy and I don't want to be without you," he declared.

He hoped that she would be willing to give him a chance but looking at her now, made him seriously doubt himself again. She had her eyes closed and was obviously struggling with her words.

"What about your reputation?" Felicity wanted to know. "This doesn't change a thing about our lives being complete opposites."

He was taken aback. He hadn't even thought about that. "I don't care about my reputation, Felicity. I'm done living my life like everybody wants me to. You were the one who told me to make my own decisions, and this is mine. I want to give us a chance to explore whatever it is that we have."

Felicity started to chew on her lip. "How am I supposed to trust you, Oliver? Everybody warned me about you and my mind is telling me to run far away from you." She took a deep breath and opened her beautiful blue eyes, looking directly into his. "But my heart tells me to give you a chance to prove yourself."

He let out an enormous sign of relief, resting his forehead against hers.

"I was afraid you would say no for a second. I can't promise you that it is going to be easy, but I promise you that I'm going to try as hard as I can to prove myself to you, Felicity," he uttered, before slowly lowering his mouth onto hers, pressing a soft kiss onto her lips.

When he pulled away and opened his eyes, he looked directly into hers and a smile spread across his face. Her eyes were soft as her hand laid on his chest, holding onto his shirt.

"You're going to get one last chance, Oliver," she started, easing her grip on him. "Don't screw it up or I'm gone before you can say my name again." She gave him a hard look, before a slow smile formed on her face.

Another sigh of relief left Oliver's lips and he pressed one more kiss onto her forehead before pulling away.

"You won't regret it, I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> Alright, I don't think there is ever going to be a normal week in my life for the next few weeks. I know I said that I would update on Sunday, but then I realized that I'll be away next weekend again, so I'll post today and then again on Wednesday before I leave. I wish I could find a good day to post, but I'll probably never will so I'll just write the next update date in the author's note every time! :)
> 
> We'll meet Tommy today and of course, there is more Felicity/Oliver!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets for each chapter! I uploaded some pictures for the first two chapters now too, so feel free to check those out. The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**March 23th, 2015**

Oliver had never been happier for a Monday, which surprised him. All his life, Oliver had hated Mondays. Back when he was in school, it meant that the weekend was over and he had to get up early again. In college, it basically meant the same, even though Oliver didn't care too much. Nobody minded him being the last to arrive to a lecture, and his professors didn't care if he was on time.

When he dropped out of college and went back home, Mondays were the start of four boring weekdays. Most of the time, they were spent recovering from the weekend's parties and preparing for the next.

Once he started at Queen Consolidated, Mondays meant the beginning of a stressful and hard work week, but meeting Felicity had changed his perspective.

Now, Mondays meant seeing Felicity after a weekend spent unable to concentrate on anything but thoughts of her. His mornings were occupied counting the minutes until his lunch break, sometimes causing him to miss important details of meetings due to lack of attention.

Luckily, there wasn't much happening this particular morning. His only meeting was through, and he'd managed to mostly pay attention. Taking a look at his schedule, he saw that Tommy had made an appointment with him and was due to arrive any minute.

Normally, they met on the weekend, but Oliver had to cancel this week owing to a work dinner and trying to catch up on some paperwork. When Oliver had called Tommy to tell him, his friend merely laughed, telling him that he never thought he'd see the day when Oliver chose work over him.

It was a common occurrence these days, Tommy turning Oliver's shift in priorities into a joke. His best friend didn't seem to understand that calling him 'the next Robert Queen' was anything but funny. Oliver was nothing like his father; he prided himself on it, really. Yes, he loved the man, and most of the time he was a good dad, but his motto was always business first, even if it meant spending less time with his family.

All his life, Oliver swore to himself he wouldn't be like his father in that point. He wanted to be a good husband one day, a husband who loved his family and actually spent time with them. He immediately thought about Felicity and her daughter. All this happened much faster than he thought it would and he just came to terms with Felicity having a daughter.

 

_On Friday, two days after their date, Oliver nervously walked to the coffee shop to pick Felicity up for lunch as promised. Fighting his nerves even more now than on their first date, Oliver let out a frustrated puff of air. He had to calm down. His anxiety probably wouldn't help convince Felicity that he was worthy of the second chance._

_As he approached the coffee shop, he saw Felicity standing outside. When she spotted him, she lifted her hand in greeting, a small smile forming on her lips. Oliver dried his sweaty hands on his suit pants._

_"Hi," he breathed as he stopped in front of her. "How are you?"_

_"I'm fine, thank you. How are you?" She replied. Her voice was stiff, almost too polite, and her fingers twisted the end of her ponytail, giving away her nerves. At least he wasn't the only one anxious about this. It relieved him, even if it made no sense, and he let out a small chuckle._

_Felicity shot him a glance of confusion, so he explained. "It feels like the first time we had lunch together."_

_"Well, I can assure you that I was just as nervous then. It's ridiculous after the last two days, but..." She paused for second, before abruptly pushing through the awkwardness, "Should we go to lunch?"_

_Oliver nodded. "Yes, let's go."_

_They started walking, Oliver unconsciously moving a little closer to her, their hands bumping together. Her fingers were cold and Oliver felt a chill run through his body. He turned his fingers slightly, only connecting their pointers together, giving her a chance to pull back. Felicity looked up at him and gave him a shy smile, which Oliver took as approval to lace their fingers together. It felt good and Oliver smiled to himself._

_Their behavior reminded him of himself in middle school, when he had his first girlfriend, but he quickly shook the memory away._

_A little later, Big Belly Burger came into sight and Felicity stopped abruptly._

_"Big Belly Burger?" She asked surprised._

_"Yes, I know it's not a fancy restaurant or anything, but they do have really good milkshakes," Oliver answered hesitantly. Felicity was an easy person and just from her dinner choice two days ago, he figured that she wasn't some kind of girl who just had salad whenever they were on a date. Now, he was doubting his decision to come here. What if she was vegetarian?_

_"No, this is perfect. I love Big Belly Burger. I came here way too often when I was pregnant; I practically lived here, actually," the blonde woman exclaimed. Oliver was surprised that she mentioned her pregnancy. She apparently realized it, too, tripping over her words in an effort to fix her perceived blunder. "I'm sorry, it just slipped out. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."_

_Oliver turned to her and gently stroked her cheek. "No, that's not it. I was just surprised. I want you to feel comfortable telling me about your daughter; I just wasn't sure how to ask you about her without being too nosy."_

_Felicity laughed softly, leaning into his hand. "You can ask me anything you want to know. I'm glad you're interested in her. I never thought you would choose to stay with me after I told you."_

_"Don't say that," Oliver scolded her softly. "You are an amazing woman. Any guy who doesn't see that, or lets your daughter get in the way, doesn't deserve you. Now, let's go inside and eat. And then you can tell me some more about her."_

 

 

_After choosing a booth and placing their order, Felicity began to fill in some of the blanks for him. "I was 21 years old when it happened. It was right after I started my 7th semester at MIT. Once my boyfriend Cooper found out, he accused me of cheating, telling me that we were too careful for it to be his baby. I was devastated, but I was also hell bent on not ending up like my own mother." She paused briefly, taking a deep breath at the unpleasant memory. "I tried to stay in school. My due date wasn't until July, and I would have been able to finish my degree, but everyone in my class, all my so-called friends, dismissed me. I dropped out after I finished the semester."_

_Oliver took her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how hard that must have been."_

_"Don't be sorry. Liliana is great and I'll never regret having her," she answered, giving him a sad smile. "I moved here and met Sara. She was the one who got me the job at the coffee shop and I will be forever thankful for that. She lives in the same apartment building and she helps me as much as she can."_

_"She sounds like a great friend. I'm glad you have her."_

_"It isn't always easy, but I know it's worth it when I see Lily smile. She's such a happy baby. I got lucky," Felicity admitted, smiling._

_"If you ever need help and I don't care if it's money or just an ear, I want you to come to me, alright?" Felicity opened her mouth to protest, but Oliver hushed her. "I know we haven't acknowledged the fact that you're dating a billionaire, but I don't care about money. I just want you to be happy." He finished, raising her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to the inside of her palm._

_Felicity tilted her head to the side, giving him a soft smile. Oliver gave her a satisfied smile too, glad that she didn't argue with him more._

 

Oliver's memory was interrupted when Tommy walked into the office.

"Man! I haven't seen you in quite a while. QC keeps you busy, my friend," Tommy greeted him.

Oliver stood up from behind his desk and walked over to him. They shook hands and Oliver gestured to the sofa, an invitation to sit.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Everything is a little bit hectic right now," Oliver explained as they walked to the sofa. "So, what are you doing here?"

Once they were sitting, Tommy smiled at him mischievously. "Well, I tried to be your lunch appointment today, but somehow that spot is firmly filled for the next few weeks. Wanna explain that to me, Oliver?"

Of course, he would find out. Felicity and he were dating for not even a week and Tommy somehow knew.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a busy man, you said so yourself," Oliver tried to lie.

Tommy shook his head. "You can't lie to me, buddy. You have this thing on your face, I think it might actually be an honest smile, and I haven't seen that in a while. So, out with it!"

Oliver laughed softly. It was funny how exited Tommy got about things like that. "Her name is Felicity. She works in the coffee shop around the corner."

His best friend laughed aloud and leaned forward. "You're banging your barista? Wow, this is a completely new level for you. You're unbelievable, Oliver. Only you would find a new conquest in a coffee shop."

"It's not like that, Tommy. I really like her," Oliver confessed seriously and a little bit angry, before looking down onto the floor. Felicity was so much more than just one of his conquests and the implication of her and the word conquest in the same sentence sparked unease in his gut.

There was another silence for a few seconds and when Oliver looked back up at Tommy, he saw his friend smiling widely.

"Man, you have it bad. Tell me about her. When can we meet?"

"We just agreed to give this a try, Tommy. I don't think you will meet her in the next few weeks," Oliver told him, taking a deep breath before continuing, "She has a daughter."

Tommy recoiled. "Holy shit, Oliver. What are you doing? Man, I know you like older women, but she has a child."

"It's not like that," Oliver quickly assured him. "She got pregnant in college. Her daughter's just 8 months old. I didn't even know at first; I just knew there was… something about her. I can't explain it. I just had to know her. Trust me, I have thought this through and Felicity is worth it."

"Whatever you say, just be careful. You don't want it to blow up in your face. I still wanna meet the girl that makes your head spin, though. Don't screw it up," Tommy ordered, emphasizing the statement by jabbing a finger at Oliver. He softened the serious tone with a grin before sobering again, eyes shifting to the side nervously. "Heart eyes aside, I am actually here for a reason. Please hear me out before you get all business-man-CEO on me, alright?"

Oliver nodded curiously, thinking back to the last time they talked. As far as he remembered, Tommy didn't have any problems at that time.

"You know that my father keeps buzzing me about joining the company and you and I both know it's never going to happen. So I have come up with an idea," Tommy started, rubbing his hands together. "I know that you're the CEO now and I also know that you don't really like your job. I'm not telling you to quit, but maybe you would be interested in investing in a nightclub with me?"

Oliver chuckled, surprised, and shook his head. He never expected to hear something like that. Tommy wanted to open his own nightclub. Was it supposed to be a joke? "You're kidding, right?"

One look at Tommy's sombre expression, though, told him otherwise. What had gotten into his best friend?

Tommy scooted forward on the couch and leaned closer to Oliver over the coffee table that was separating them. "I know it seems like a lot, but I can manage everything and you can be my silent partner. Just think of it as an investment and a back-up plan, if being CEO of the company doesn't work out for you."

"Tommy, I don't think you understand that I don't have a choice. My father built this company with his own hands and I can't let that mean nothing," Oliver argued back, not understanding how Tommy still thought he would quit his job. "I'm not going to quit being CEO, Tommy. And between running the company and trying to live my life, there isn't that much time left."

Tommy stood abruptly, venom lacing his next words. "Trust me; I know what it means to have a family legacy. My father also runs a multi-billion dollar company, but I won't let that stop me from doing something that I actually like. So, don't play that card with me, Oliver. Don't forget that we are living the exact same life. My father missed just as many important things in my life as yours did."

Oliver rose as well, trying to maintain his cool. Tommy's emotions were getting the better of him, as evidenced by his agitated pacing beside the windows. Having two hot heads in this disagreement wouldn't help.

"This is exactly why I don't need anything more on my plate," Oliver implored. "I don't want to be my father, Tommy. Why don't you understand that?"

"When we were little, we always dreamed about running our own business together, remember?" Tommy paused for a second, letting his words sink in. "This could be our chance. Once the club is up and running, you can sit back. The only thing I need you to do, is help me make the basic decision. After that, I promise you, I won't bother you again."

"Tommy, this is a big decision. There is a lot going on right now. I just… give me time to think about it," Oliver requested, sighing loudly.

"Alright, that's all I am asking," Tommy agreed, satisfied.

Oliver sighed again, glancing at his watch. It was almost lunchtime and he really needed to get out of the office.

"I'm sorry, Tommy. I have to get going. I promise you, I'm gonna think about the whole club thing," Oliver promised him once again as he walked over to his desk, putting his suit jacket on. "Are we good?"

Tommy nodded swiftly, puffing out some air. "Yes, just think about it. And don't forget to introduce me to your new lady sometime soon."

Oliver chuckled softly. "I will, just please don't tell anyone yet. I'd like to actually enjoy some time with her before my mother or anybody else finds out."

"I understand that. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> Next chapter will be up on Monday! Let me know what you think! I do love reviews!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**March 26th, 2015**

Oliver kneaded his hands under the conference table. He dreaded these meetings, always running for hours on end. Did none of these people take lunch breaks? He wanted nothing more than to go and see Felicity right now, but there was no end in sight.

His phone lit up next to him and he opened the text.

_I'm sorry the meeting is running late. Your coffee is waiting for you :) xx_

Immediately, he smiled and his eyes flickered to the time on his phone. Listening to the endless talking, he quickly calculated that he was probably going to be here for at least another hour. He unlocked his phone again and quickly started to type.

_I'm sorry; I don't think I can make it today :( There is no end to this meeting. Wish I could just leave and come to you. I was looking forward to seeing you all morning. xx_

Putting his phone down once again, he glanced to Martha who was taking notes on her tablet. She briefly peered over to him, sending him an apologetic smile. She knew how much he valued his lunch break.

His phone lit up again and he quickly looked at it.

_Me too. Work comes first though. Please don't go all 'grr' on the others, it's not their fault. Call later? xx_

Oliver chuckled softly, before sending her a quick 'yes', slumping his shoulders in defeat and trying to focus on the investor who had just moved on to the next point in his stack of papers.

* * *

After another hour, the meeting finally came to a close and Oliver bee lined for his office, needing to be alone for a while. Luckily, there weren't any other meetings in the afternoon and he just had to finish some paperwork.

Feeling drained, he stood in front of his windows and looked out at the city. He was in desperate needed of a change of scenery, but he knew that he couldn't leave just yet. Sighing, he fished his phone out of his pocket, dialing Felicity's number. After a few rings, she picked up.

"Hold on, I'm gonna go outside. Sara, I'm gonna be back in 5," he heard her tell her colleague. He also heard Sara shouting something in the background and Felicity chuckling. Just hearing her voice gave him a boost of energy.

"I have to officially meet Sara one of these days," Oliver mused.

"I have a feeling that's gonna happen sooner rather than later," Felicity answered. "Ok, I'm alone now. How was your meeting?"

"Too long. It's good to hear your voice, though," he whispered softly, almost hearing her blush through the phone.

"It's nice to hear yours, too. I almost missed being your personal shrink today," the blonde joked and Oliver laughed. "There it is. And here I thought I couldn't make you laugh today."

"Should I be offended or happy now?" Oliver asked curiously, sitting down on one of the sofas. He'd really needed her cheerfulness and he missed seeing her laugh at him, even though he had just seen her yesterday. It was way too long.

"Whatever you want, Mister. Listen, I can call you tonight when Lily's sleeping. I have to get back to work," Felicity told him, sounding a little sad.

Oliver puffed out some air. "I have my family dinner tonight, I can't. But, tell you what. When is your shift over today?"

"At 3:30, why?"

"I just have to finish some paperwork and then I'm done. How about I drive you home today? Then you don't have to take the bus and can get home earlier than usual," Oliver suggested, hoping that she would say yes. He couldn't imagine not seeing her today.

Felicity started to laugh loud on the other end of the line. "You mean your driver, Mr. Diggle, will drive me home? You don't exactly drive your own car."

"Are you mocking me, Miss Smoak?" Oliver loved their playful banter. Hearing Felicity sound so carefree, made him feel happy. Even more so, knowing that he was the reason for her laughter.

"Maybe." She teased softly and paused for a second, turning serious. "I would like you to pick me up though. Can't spend a day without seeing your face, Queen."

She started to laugh again and Oliver shook his head. "Whatever, Smoak. I'll be there at 3.30 sharp."

He hung up after saying his goodbye and slowly walked over to his desk, sitting down and picking up a report that needed to be reviewed. Having something to look forward to at least gave him some motivation to finish his work quickly.

* * *

Oliver left the office at 3:20, wanting to make sure he was on time. He didn't want to waste one minute of Felicity's presence, which made him walk faster once more.

A few minutes later, he reached the coffee shop, pleased to see that Felicity wasn't waiting yet. He entered, noticing that there weren't many people there right now. Behind the counter, he saw Sara, Felicity's friend and one other girl he didn't recognize.

Sara's eyes met his and she smiled at him. "Well if that isn't my best friend's new boyfriend."

Oliver gave her a friendly smile, not really knowing what to say to her. "I'm actually here to pick her up. You don't happen to know where she is."

"She is changing right now," Sara responded, walking out from behind the counter towards him. She gestured to one of the tables. "Why don't we sit down and wait for her? You can tell me something about yourself, Oliver Queen."

Nervously, Oliver looked to the back door leading to the employer's only area, hoping Felicity would just come right now. Nothing happened though, so he slowly made his way to the table and sat down. When he told Felicity that he wanted to meet Sara earlier on the phone, he imagined the three of them sitting down together. Being alone with Sara made him feel somehow uncomfortable.

"What was it that you wanted to talk about?" Oliver asked innocently, trying to stall Sara a little bit longer, but she didn't take any of it.

"What are your intentions with Felicity?" She asked seriously, her smile dropping from her face. Oliver shifted, fingers fidgeting under the table. Everything about this situation reminded him of some unpleasant conversations had with fathers when he picked their daughters up for dates a few years back.

He never knew how to answer that question and truthfully, he never cared about finding the right answer. Now, with Felicity, he felt like he needed to answer Sara's question honestly.

"Oliver! Sara, what are you doing?" Oliver's thoughts were interrupted when Felicity finally emerged from the back room and walked over to them.

"Oliver, what did she ask you?" Felicity wanted to know, placing her hand on his arm. She cut her eyes briefly to Sara, glaring, and the other woman started to laugh.

"Nothing, she was just keeping me company," Oliver replied, looping his arm around the blonde's waist, drawing her closer to him. He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple and Felicity started to relax slightly. Avoiding the subject as long as he didn't have a satisfactory answer seemed like a good thing to do at this point.

His girlfriend looked up to him and gave him genuine smile before pressing a soft kiss against his stubbly cheek.

"You two are sickly sweet," Sara interrupted their moment. She crossed her arms and hiked an eyebrow. "I'm still waiting for an answer, Queen,"

Oliver sighed, so much for that approach. Before he could answer, Felicity gently scolded her best friend. "He doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to. How about you get back to work, and we leave."

Sara shook her head and stood up. "Well, it was nice to formally meet you, Oliver."

Standing up, too, Oliver gave her a soft smile. "It was nice to meet you, too." He looked at Felicity and took her hand. Sara turned to make her way back to the counter, but Oliver called out to stop her. "Oh, and Sara. I can assure you that my intentions with Felicity are purely good ones. I won't hurt her."

Felicity looked surprised and a silent 'Oh' left her lips. Oliver pulled her closer once again and pressed his lips against her forehead. He met Sara's eyes over Felicity's head and she nodded at him, satisfied.

Pleased with himself, he slung his arm over Felicity's shoulder, pulling her out of the coffee shop. He felt her press closer to him and he realized that she liked hearing him declare his intentions openly. For once in his life, he actually managed to say the right thing.

"Diggle's car is right there. Come on," he said, when he saw Diggle stepping out of the car. With a few short steps, they reached him, Oliver realizing as they did so that he'd never properly introduced the pair.

"Diggle, I want you to meet Felicity Smoak," Oliver introduced her, before turning to Felicity. "Felicity, this is John Diggle, my driver and also one of my close friends."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Diggle," Felicity greeted him, extending her hand. She had no idea who adorable she was.

Diggle took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Please call me Diggle or John. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask. That includes kicking Oliver's ass, if he messes up."

Felicity chuckled softly whereas Oliver just rolled his eyes and tilted his head to the side. "I have a feeling you two are going to get along just fine."

They all got into the car and Diggle started driving.

"Have you talked to Thea, yet?" Felicity asked him as she put her head on his shoulder.

Squeezing her hand, which was lying intertwined with his on his thigh, he looked down to her. "No, I haven't had a chance. I plan on doing it tonight, though."

After his talk with Tommy on Monday, he couldn't stop thinking about his proposal and when he reached the coffee shop that day, Felicity immediately noticed that something was bothering him.

_He was standing in line at the coffee shop, trying to clear his head. Felicity was nowhere to be seen, probably in the back somewhere._

_As much as Oliver wanted to pretend that Tommy didn't hit a nerve, he couldn't. It was true; they had always dreamed about opening their own business together when they were younger. The idea actually stuck with him through college, giving him another reason to fail his classes._

_Right now, though, didn't seem to be the right time for tying himself down with another project. He was already more than busy running the company and now there was Felicity and her daughter._

_They just started over again. Well not really over, but they decided to try a relationship and he wasn't going to ruin his chance by not having enough time for her. He had worked hard to get where they were now and if he had to choose between opening his own nightclub and being with Felicity, he didn't have to think twice about it._

_It was his turn and he stepped forward, placing his order, before paying and stepping aside._

_Could his best friend wait another year with his brilliant idea? He was just starting to feel like his life was back under control and adding more to his plate right now would just make everything harder again._

_A warm hand on his arm brought him out of his thoughts. He looked to his right side and saw Felicity standing next to him. She sneaked up on him, which rarely happened. He was an attentive person, always scanning his surroundings. The blonde woman looked concerned, rubbing her hand up and down his arm. "Are you alright, Oliver?"_

_He quickly plastered a smile on his face, not wanting her to worry as he pulled her into his side. Pressing a kiss to her lips, he whispered, "I'm fine. Just thinking about some stuff, but you don't have to worry about it. It's nothing."_

_A frown appeared on her face at his non-existent lying skills._

_His heart started to beat faster, and not just because he was caught. She was worried about him and, apart from his mother, nobody seemed to worry about him these days. Even his mother seemed too caught up with her own problems these days._

_It was ridiculous, considering his miserable state brought him joy over his girlfriend's concern, but he shook his thoughts away. Instead, he chose to focus on Felicity's expectant expression, her eyebrows raised._

_"Alright, let me wait for my order and then I'll tell you, alright?" Oliver gave in and Felicity relaxed her eyebrows, the frown smoothing out._

_A few minutes later, they were sitting on one of the benches in the far back of the coffee shop and Oliver had just finished his sandwich._

_"You know you can tell me anything right? I won't judge you, Oliver," Felicity started again, turning to face him._

_"I know. I just feel like I'm dumping all my problems on you," he confessed quietly. It was definitely true. He told her about his rebellious sister, his father's death, his broken family and his problems of being the CEO of his own company. He was dumping all his problems on her._

_"You're not dumping all your problems on me, Oliver. Last time I checked, I asked you."_

_He looked down at the table before he reluctantly started to talk. He told her about Tommy's visit earlier and his proposal, leaving out the part where they talked about her. "I just don't think I have enough time for a club. The company is taking almost all my time and then there is my family and you."_

_He had just finished his last sentence as he felt Felicity scoot closer, their arms and thighs pressed together. Without thinking, Oliver moved his arm from in between them and slung it over her shoulder, pulling her even closer. She easily leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder._

_"You know you don't have to say no to him just because of me, right? This... Our thing is still new and in the early stages," Felicity told him in a soft voice, her hand holding his, drawing circles on his knuckles._

_Oliver looked down to her, his hand on her shoulder gently stroking her upper arm. "I know, but I also know that just seeing you for lunch five days a week is not going to last forever. I don't want to tie myself down with another project. QC is more than enough right now. I need to focus on becoming a good CEO first."_

_"I understand that and it seems to me that you do as well. So, why does it still bother you this much?"_

_"Because he is right. After I gave up making my parents happy, Tommy and I swore ourselves to open our own business together. We had this understanding that we would stop thinking about what our parents wanted for us." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I feel like I'm letting him down."_

_Lifting his hand to her lips, Felicity pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it. "You're not letting him down. He'll understand. You told me, he is your best friend."_

_"I don't know, Felicity. I feel like he doesn't understand me anymore. Sometimes he makes me so angry." Screw it; he had already dumped all his remaining problems on her. She would probably not mind hearing about his general disagreements with Tommy._

_"What about Thea?" Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts._

_Confused, Oliver furrowed his brows. "What about her?"_

_"Well, you told me that she isn't doing anything right now, except making your mother angry by getting into trouble." She shook her head, seemingly clearing her thoughts. "How about you let Thea be your voice in all of this? Maybe it'll keep her busy and out of trouble for a while and you can still be Tommy's silent partner without actually doing anything." Felicity concluded, lifting her head up to look at him._

_"Why haven't I thought about this before?" Oliver questioned, amazed._

_Felicity giggled softly, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I don't know, why haven't you?"_

_Her idea was brilliant. It would be a good opportunity for Thea and she was certainly going to be busy. She had great taste and a talent to keep everything organized, contrary to Tommy. The two of them got along nicely, Tommy seeing her as his non-existent sister._

_"You're remarkable, Felicity," Oliver complimented her, pressing a sweet kiss to her temple._

_"Thank you for remarking on it," Felicity replied, giving him his favorite smile. It reached her eyes and she got tiny dimples on her cheeks. God, this woman was going to be the death of him._

Feeling Felicity rub her nose gently under his ear interrupted his memory. A soft growl left his lips and Felicity stopped promptly. A wicked smile ghosted over her lips and Oliver couldn't help but match it.

Pulling her closer to him, they spent the rest of the car ride in silence, just enjoying each other's company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some love (reviews)! ♥


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> Things are moving along, two more chapters and we'll meet Lily! Next chapter will be up on Saturday! Let me know what you think! I do love reviews!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**April 3rd, 2015**

Oliver shifted and glanced at his watch yet again as the elevator crawled down to the lobby. He was already late, and the fact that the elevator seemed to be moving slower than usual wasn't helping. Drumming his fingers against his leg, he stared at the doors as though he could make them open faster.

The familiar ding sounded as the elevator stopped in the lobby. Restless, Oliver moved forward, once again thankful for his private elevator. Finally, the doors opened and Oliver darted outside, crossing the lobby in few long strides, before leaving through the glass doors.

He was halfway down the stairs, hell bent on not being more than five minutes late this time as he quickened up his pace.

"I hope you don't have another lunch date to get to, Mr. Queen," a familiar voice caught his ears. Stopping mid-stride, he stumbled slightly, almost tripping down the stairs. Quickly gripping the railing, he found his balance and sighed in relief at not embarrassing himself by falling down the stairs in front of his company during the busiest hour of the day.

"Felicity?" Turning into her direction, his eyes narrowed and frown appeared on his face. "What are you doing here?"

She was standing a few feet away from him, two cups of coffee in her hand, looking beautiful as ever. Did she know how beautiful she was?

Her sudden appearance shocked him, but he slowly smoothed the wrinkles on his forehead away as he stepped closer to her. How did she even know that he wasn't already on his way? They could have missed each other.

"It's nice to see you too, Oliver," Felicity responded. She handed him one of the coffee cups and wrapped one arm around his waist, standing on her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. The skin tingled where her lips had touched as she lowered herself back to the ground.

"You've never come here before," he managed to say, wrapping his fingers around the warm cup, still at a loss for words.

"Oh, snap out of it, Queen, and take me to lunch," she laughed, giving him a gentle nudge with her elbow.

Shaking his head, he gathered his thoughts, willing the surprise out of his mind, replacing it with contentment and amazement for the petite woman in front of him.

"Sorry, this is just really nice," he replied, putting his arm over her shoulder. Returning her kiss on the cheek, he started walking down the rest of the stairs, pulling her with him. He watched every step carefully.

* * *

Flipping the page of his book, Oliver sighed. His whole idea of reading a book about how to run a successful company seemed somehow more interesting in his mind. Taking a deep breath, he began to read the next paragraph.

He knew that he wasn't the best CEO in the world. The embarrassment he felt when he was sitting in a meeting not understanding what his employees were saying made him want to run out of there and never go back.

By now, he was used to Martha helping him whenever he couldn't understand some of the business jargon, but this couldn't go on forever.

His options to actually earn a degree in business were limited, so purchasing a book seemed like the next best idea.

Closing his eyes, Oliver took a minute to regroup before focusing back on the page in front of him until the sound of the doorbell interrupted his progress once again.

Placing his book on the coffee table, he headed for the door with a quick glance at his microwave clock. A frown puckered his forehead when he saw it read 8:30pm. It was Friday and he wasn't excepting anybody (or more accurately, everybody had something better to do on a Friday night than keep him company while he read some boring book about business).

Taking two more steps, he stood in front of the door, leaning forward and peeking through the peephole.

His eyes widened as he recognized the person to be Felicity and he grabbed the doorknob, hastily pulling the door open.

"Felicity!" His eyebrows drew together and he let his eyes room over her body, searching for possible injuries. "Is everything okay?"

When his eyes reached her feet, he realized that she was fine and he let his eyes wander back up, making sure that he hadn't missed anything. His expression morphed from alarm to confusion, at her attire; she was wearing yoga pants and a pullover instead of her usual dress.

"What is it with you and welcoming me today?" Felicity hummed as she stepped closer. Resting her palms against his chest for support, she raised onto the tips of her sneaker-clad feet, brushing a short peck on his lips.

Unable to form a coherent sentence in his brain, he kept his mouth shut, blinking rapidly, trying to clear his head.

"I just put Lily to bed when Sara came over," Felicity started, obviously sensing his confusion. "We were supposed to have a movie night but instead she kicked me out and told me that she doesn't want to see me before tomorrow at noon. She is watching Lily and she told me ..." Stopping for a second to shake her head in what seemed to be amusement, she lifted up her index finger. "And I quote - 'Go take care of your man'. So… here I am. Do you think you could use some company tonight?" She finished, moving closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up to him with shining blue eyes.

His brain finally seemed to catch up with him and after processing everything she just told him, he slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, accepting her embrace.

"Well, I guess I could use some company," he answered, dropping a kiss to her head.

"I didn't interrupt your nightly routine or something, did I?" Felicity wondered, breaking their embrace. "I mean, not that I assume you have a night time routine or that you were actually doing something." She stopped again, crinkling her forehead. "Of course you were doing something, it's not like you just sit in your apartment on a Friday night, doing nothing." Stopping herself again, she put a hand on her forehead, taking a deep breath. "What I meant to say is that I hope you didn't have any plans for tonight."

A smile crept up on his face. Did she have any idea how adorable she was? He loved seeing her babble. Her cheeks would turn a rosy pink that spread gradually down her neck and disappeared beneath her shirt, leaving him to wonder just how deep it crept.

Placing his hand on her cheek, he gently smoothed his thumb over the soft skin of her cheekbone, his fingers tingling from the warmth radiating off her.

"I was just reading something, but it can wait. Come on in," he told her, opening his door wider for her to pass.

* * *

After a quick tour of his apartment, they ended up back in the living room. Oliver was sitting on the sofa, watching Felicity as she stood a few feet away, studying the pictures of his family arranged on the fireplace.

"Well, this is definitely one of the nicer apartments I've seen in my life," Felicity told him in earnestly.

Throwing his arm on the back of the sofa, Oliver let himself sink into it. "Do I hear a 'but' in that sentence?"

Felicity walked over to him, plopping down next to him, leaning back as well. Her head rested just under his hand. If he reached out, he would be able to feel her soft hair. She moved her head to face him, her eyes softening.

"It's just so impersonal," she conceded, grabbing his hand and giving it a soft squeeze. "Don't get me wrong. It's beautiful, but except from the few family pictures, there is nothing here that screams Oliver Queen."

"Maybe I just don't have a reason to make it feel like I live here," he blurted out. And there go all his problems again. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?

Felicity nodded her head slightly, biting her lip. She clearly was not sure what to say, and Oliver wasn't sure if they were ready for such a big conversation anyway.

"Anyway," Oliver sighed and looked down to her. "Have I told you that you look beautiful today?" Felicity smiled and started to blush again. "It's the first time I've seen you without a dress."

Her eyes widened. Rethinking his words, Oliver realized what he had just suggested. Detangling his hand from hers, he scratched the back of his neck, clearing his throat.

"I mean that you're not wearing a dress, but are wearing something else. I wasn't implying that you were naked."

"Usually I'm the one who talks in sentence fragments," Felicity smiled, scooting closer to him. "But if it helps you in any way, this is also my first time seeing you not wearing one of your suits."

She was so close now. The first thing he noticed was her intoxicating scent. She smelled like strawberries and vanilla. Maybe it was her shampoo, but he knew that it was going to be his favorite scent from now on.

He felt the mood shift, the tension growing to a level that made him feel uncomfortable. His hands were itching to touch her and he balled them into fists, keeping them right where they were. He was going to leave this up to her.

She seemed to feel it to, leaning closer to him, their thighs touching. Her hand landed on his shoulder, gently stroking up to his neck, stopping there.

Unable to control himself any longer, he placed his hand on her waist, locking them in a slightly awkward side embrace.

"You are stunning, Felicity," he whispered, gazing at her lips which were bright pink. He loved her lips and sometimes he caught himself thinking about them while he was sitting in a boring meeting. They had exchanged some chaste kisses in the last few weeks, but they were always short and ended far too soon for his liking.

She smiled at him, her hands moving to frame his face, softly brushing her thumbs over his cheeks. Leaning forward, she closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his.

"I'm glad I gave you a chance, Oliver," she breathed.

His heart stopped for a second before it filled with joy and pure love.

Needing to feel her closer and wanting to end their slightly uncomfortable and awkward position, he lifted her up on his lap.

A quiet yelp left her lips, leaving her surprised for a second, before she got comfortable again, melting in his embrace, straddling his legs.

She seemed relaxed, her forehead once again leaning against his. Her eyes were still closed and her arms had moved around his neck.

"Are you ok with leaving Lily for the night?" He questioned. He needed to know that she was comfortable to stay with him before he took this any further with her. As much as he wanted to take everything slow, he wasn't sure how well he was able to control himself anymore. His feelings for the woman in front of him were nothing compared to anything he felt before. However, he cared more about her being comfortable than his own desire and want. "I know that Sara offered to take her overnight, but I want you to know that I would never ask you to leave her. If you don't want to stay over, I can drop you off at your place later."

A soft laugh escaped her lips and her eyes lit up. She placed her hand back on his cheek, gently scratching his scruff.

"You are sweet, Oliver," she smiled right before she turned serious again. "You're right though. It took me a while to actually leave her, but Sara was very persistent and in the end, it didn't take her that long to convince me." She paused and one of her hands started to play with the neckline of his shirt. "It's the first time I'm away from Lily over night, so I might wake up in the middle of the night, calling Sara just to make sure she's ok." She blurted out, taking small breath. "But I also missed you which is silly because we just saw each other like six hours ago."

She closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths, calming herself down.

"It's not silly. I miss you all the time," Oliver confessed, gently cupping her cheek. He could hardly take it anymore. She was so extremely close to him and he could almost hear her heart beating. Her hand was warm on his cheek and she had opened her eyes once more, gazing lovingly into his.

She leaned closer to him, and with a small tilted of his head, his lips gently brushed against hers, testing the waters. Her lips were soft, moving against his with just the right amount of pressure.

His whole body started to tingle and his heart pounded. Unable to resist, he leisurely gave her bottom lip a little nip, causing her to moan softly. Her palm slid along his jaw to cup the back of neck, tugging him closer. One ability he retained from his playboy days was the ability to read body language in these types of situations, and Felicity's was definitely telling him that she wanted this as much as he did. Her fingernails raked through the short strands of hair at the base of his neck as his own wandered down her back, fingers tracing her spine. She arched into him in response, her chest pressing against his.

Their lips moved almost desperately, the kiss getting more heated by the second. Soon enough, Oliver felt himself react to the close proximity they were in.

Another soft moan left her lips as he traced them with his tongue. When her hips pressed down into his, a growl tore from his chest and his hands flew to her hips, holding her there as he explored her mouth.

The sensation of her tongue against his was addictive, and he felt himself getting lost in everything that was her until the sudden blaring of his ringtone sounded up next to them. He contemplated ignoring it, but it kept on ringing and it was distracting him.

He groaned in defeat and with a firm grip, he stilled her hips, moving one of his hands back to her cheek and slowing the pace until their lips parted. Their chests heaved, replenishing their oxygen supply. He softly pressed his lips against hers two more times before he pulled back.

"I'm sorry, I'll turn it off now," he muttered, reaching for his phone that was lying on the other side of the sofa. Way to kill the mood.

A soft chuckle left her mouth as he declined Tommy's call and silenced his phone. His best friend could wait. Throwing the phone onto the sofa again, he looked back up to Felicity.

Her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen. She was still a little breathless, but she seemed happy.

"You're so beautiful, Felicity. You don't even know what you are doing to me", he whispered, letting his fingers run through her hair.

Felicity smiled at him, placing her hand on the side of his face, her little finger grazing the top of his ear. Her thumb stroked over his brow and her other hand moved to his chest, lying directly over his heart. Her smile grew bigger when she realized that it was beating faster than usual and she pressed another quick kiss to his lips.

"You make me happy, Oliver," the blonde woman confessed.

Happiness surged through him, an intensity of emotion he hadn't felt in too long.

Contently, he brushed a kiss on her forehead and carefully shifted her around in his lap so that both of her legs where now on one side of his body, easing the pressure of certain parts of his body.

He grabbed a blanket from under his coffee table and covered both of them with it. Felicity snuggled closer to him, putting her head down in the crook of his neck and sighed, satisfied.

He could sit here with her for the rest of his life and he would be the happiest man on earth.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> Next chapter will be up on Wednesday. Important things happening in this chapter and it's actually a little longer than usual. I will also be publishing a new story in the next week or so, something post season 3. Kind of season 4 AU.
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**April 4th, 2015**

The room was still dark when Oliver woke, only lit by the bright light of a phone.

Felicity had tossed around in his arms for the last ten minutes, wiggling and sighing more times than he was able to count in his dazed state.

Keeping his eyes closed, he tightened his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest while nuzzling her neck. "What's wrong, Felicity?"

Quickly putting her phone down, eliminating the source of light that made it impossible to open his eyes, she grabbed his hand. "Sorry I woke you up. I'm just so used to waking up in the middle of the night, and then I realized I was here and I had to check my phone just in case."

A heavy sigh left her mouth, before she took a deep breath.

He gently pressed a kiss to her neck.

"I'll drive you home, if you want to," he murmured, forcing his eyes open. "I want you to be comfortable and I don't care if it's the middle of the night. I'll still do it."

"No, I'm okay. I trust Sara." Her voice was steady as her fingers tightened around his hand, squeezing it gently.

"M'kay."

He closed his eyes again, too tired to say anything else. She seemed to relax again, too, the tension leaving her body with each breath. Pressing a final kiss to her neck, he let himself get pulled back into the land of dreams.

* * *

The next time Oliver opened his eyes, the sun was streaming in through the windows, illuminating the bedroom in a soft, golden glow.

Eyes heavy with sleep, he blinked a few times, adjusting to the light in the room. Warmth surrounded him and it took him a minute to realize that he was wrapped around Felicity.

They were still in the same position they fell asleep in. She was clearly awake; her fingers were drawing patterns onto his arm where it lay around her waist, and he heard her tapping on her phone.

A chuckle left her mouth and Oliver buried his face in her hair, pressing soft kisses to her neck. He felt her shift closer and his hand automatically tightened around her, feeling her soft, smooth skin grazing his calloused fingers. Holding his breath, he realized that his hand had wandered under her shirt over night and was now lying right under the swell of her breast. She wasn't wearing a bra. His blood shot south, making him even more uncomfortable than he already was, pressing into the small of her back.

He groaned, retrieving his hand from under her shirt and rolling onto his back. He closed his eyes for a second, taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart.

Before he could even apologize, Felicity turned around, scooting closer to him, laying her head on his chest. Her leg slipped between his and she shifted around for a bit until she seemed to be comfortable.

Her lips brushed a kiss to his chest, and Oliver was pleased with himself for putting on a shirt and sweatpants last night. Just imagining the feeling of her lips on his bare skin made his heart race again.

"It's alright, Oliver," she soothed his worries. "Nothing I haven't felt before." She groaned, shaking her head slightly. "Scratch that. Let's just pretend I didn't say that."

It was Oliver's turn to chuckle and he placed his arm around her, holding her close to him. His other hand gently cupped her rosy cheeks, titling her face up. Leaning closer to her, he pressed his lips to hers, giving her a slow, passionate kiss, which she gladly reciprocated. Their lips met a few more times, before Oliver pulled away and Felicity put her head back on his chest, resting her hand on his chest as well.

"Sara is cursing herself for watching Lily last night," the blonde woman started, chuckling quietly. "Apparently, she woke up twice and they ended up sleeping in my bed together. Now, she's sleep deprived and has no clue how I do it every day."

"I don't either. You are remarkable, Felicity," Oliver whispered, brushing a kiss to her hair. "You're one of the strongest women I've met."

It was the truth. He knew that babies weren't easy and Felicity was juggling a job with being a mom, yet still finding time to see him every day. He couldn't fathom where she got all the energy and devotion to live this busy life, especially without a full night's sleep.

Just thinking about complaining about his own life made him feel weak. His problems were nothing compared to her daily life. He was getting enough sleep every night, he didn't have anyone dependent on him, and yet, he felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Her lips gently brushing against his jaw brought him out of his thoughts. "I lost you there for a minute," she said, looking up to him.

Without explanation, he pressed his lips against hers again.

"I'm serious, Felicity. I don't know what keeps you going every single day," Oliver breathed, locking his eyes on hers.

"What do you mean?" A frown appeared on her forehead, her eyes narrowing.

"How can you be this happy, carefree, incredible person after everything that happened?" Oliver questioned. "I know you don't regret anything, but how do you keep going every single day, knowing that it's gonna end with you falling into your bed exhausted and drained?"

Felicity's eyes turned soft, her lips turning upward into a gentle smile.

"It's Lily," she simply answered. "She is what keeps me going every single day, working this ridiculous job in the coffee shop." She paused, taking a shaky breath. "Just seeing her smile makes me feel… There aren't enough words for the joy. Everything I do, I do to keep seeing that smile on her face every single day for the rest of her life."

He knew very little about Lily, even though Felicity had told him bits and pieces about her every now and then. Looking into her eyes filled with compassion and love for her daughter, Oliver knew that he wanted nothing else than to share this feeling with her.

Cupping her cheek, he said, "I want to meet her, Felicity. I want to meet your daughter."

Felicity pushed herself up, forehead wrinkling in surprise.

"Are you serious?"

Oliver sat up, too, leaning his back against the headboard. He gently took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles.

"Yes, I am. If you think it's too soon, we can wait, but after last night, I don't think seeing you for an hour a day during lunch break is going to be enough," he stated, circling his thumb over her knuckles.

Felicity was quiet and Oliver continued, leaning closer to her. "I'm still scared to meet her. It's going to change everything and I really don't know the first thing about children, but after hearing how happy she makes you every single day, I just feel like it'll be worth it." He paused for a second, before continuing, "If you think I'm ready, that is."

Tears pooled in her eyes and she surged forward, crushing him into a hug. She buried her face in his neck and let out a puff of air. Her warm breath was a welcome sensation on his skin, and Oliver put his arms around her, pressing a gentle kiss to her hair.

"Is that a yes?" He whispered in her ear, letting his hand run through her hair. His heart was beating faster which each second that passed.

Felicity laughed softly, breaking their embrace and looking at him. Framing his face with her hands, she leaned her forehead against his. Her blue eyes fixed on his and the corners of her mouth rose into a genuine smile.

"It would mean a lot to me, Oliver," she started, closing her eyes. "I promise you that I won't make you do anything you don't want to. We can go as slow with this as you want to. Do you trust me?"

She opened her eyes again and Oliver caught his breath. He wasn't prepared for the honesty and affection he saw. Swallowing hard, he nodded his head in response, gripping her forearms. "I trust you more than anything."

Seeing the smile that ghosted over her lips, his shoulders slumped in relief and he sank into her embrace. Their lips connected, brushing tenderly.

"Do you have plans for tomorrow?" Felicity asked, after breaking away from him. "You could come over and spend the day with us. I didn't plan anything yet and Lily might feel better at home." Her hands were running up and down his chest. "She is just a baby though. She is happy as long as she is entertained, fed, and her diaper is clean. Not that you have to do any of that, I just wanted to explain that she is very easy." She paused again, stilling her hands, framing his face once more. "You don't have to be scared. Children love unconditionally, Oliver. You are a good man and she will love you."

He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. This petite woman was adorable. Her rambles never failed to lighten up his mood and just seeing her this excited, the happiness literally bouncing off her, made his heart beat faster once again. One of these days, it was going to jump out of his chest.

"I will be there tomorrow, I promise."

* * *

Taking off his sunglasses, Oliver glanced into the shop window next to the door. After Felicity had left, he decided that he needed to get a present for Lily.

When he was younger, he always enjoyed getting presents and even though Lily might be too young to actually acknowledge his gesture, he was sure Felicity would. The baby was probably not even going to remember meeting him growing up, but Felicity would and so would he.

John had recommend Nancy's toy store to him, a little independent toy store in one of the quieter neighborhoods in Starling City. The press didn't need to spot him buying baby toys, spinning a new scandalous story about him. He actually hoped that they wouldn't find out about Felicity or Lily in the near future.

Sliding his hood off, he let his hand run through his short hair, before opening the door in front of him, walking inside.

It was empty, except for an elderly woman sitting in the back of the store. She must be the owner John had told him about, Nancy.

The store was indeed small, but everything was arranged neatly and in a loving way. There were a lot of wooden toys and one side held a bookshelf full of books in all different sizes. In the back corner were some racks full of tiny clothes and a little play area.

It was a bit more overwhelming than Oliver might have imagined it to be and he took a deep breath

"Hello dear. Can I help you find anything?" The elderly woman asked him, walking towards him with a friendly smile. "My name is Nancy."

Puffing out some air, he scratched his chin, before pressing his lips together. "Yes, I'm looking for a gift for my ..." He stopped. Could he tell her about Felicity and Lily?

Before he could come up with a convincing lie, Nancy gently laid her hand on his arm. "I do know who you are, Mr. Queen." She pulled him further into the store, walking him past colorful shelves filled with toys. "However, I also think there is a reason you chose to come to my store instead of a bigger, more popular one. I won't tell anybody of your visit today."

The woman had taken him by surprise, leaving him in stunned silence for a minute before his mind finally caught up. Feeling like he could trust her, he sighed.

"I'm going to meet my girlfriend's daughter tomorrow. I want to bring her something she might enjoy and, well, I don't really know anything about babies," Oliver confessed hastily, stuffing his hands in his pockets, keeping them from gesturing wildly. "She is eight months old."

"Ah, very well. That seems very thoughtful of you. Let's see then." They moved deeper into the store. "She is probably already crawling around the house, keeping her mother busy. Babies that age love to grab new things and either throw them, put them into other things, or simply hold onto them." She explained patiently while stopping in front of a wall full of colorful toys. "I would suggest buying her something that will help her further develop her motor abilities."

She pointed to a few different toys and Oliver picked each of them up, inspecting them closer. He had no clue which one to pick. Was there such a thing as a bad toy?

Nancy seemed to realize his hesitation and explained, "Babies chew on all of their toys so it is important to take a closer look at the material they are made of. All the toys here are made of organic, natural rubber wood and are painted with non-toxic water based paints so there is nothing to worry about."

Oliver nodded and focused his attention back onto the different toys in front of him, before settling on a stacking ring and a little xylophone. They were both made out of wood and painted with bright colors.

"A very good choice," Nancy spoke up next to him. "I'm going to take this to the register and you can look around some more if you'd like." She took the toys out of his hands and slowly walked away.

A huge sigh of relief left Oliver's lungs. He would have been lost without Nancy, and he made a silent note to himself to thank John again. Moving through the store, he picked up a stuffed black and white tiger that immediately caught his eye and a book about babies before making his way to the register.

After paying and thanking Nancy for her help, he put his hood and sunglasses back on, leaving the store with a refreshed conscience.

* * *

The day seemed to have no end, and Oliver blamed it on his anticipation. He was both nervous and excited. He had tried to calm himself down by going for a run, two miles more than his usual morning run, but it didn't help.

It was late afternoon when Tommy came over to have dinner with him. He brought take out and dropped down on Oliver's couch without so much as an invitation, flipping the TV to a football game.

"So, about the whole club thing," Oliver started, poking his fork into his half-empty container. "I thought a lot about it and you're right."

Tommy stopped eating. "Excuse me? Can you please say that again?" He requested and Oliver raised his eyebrows. Tommy stopped, turning serious. "Okay, what's the verdict?"

"While opening our own business was always our dream, it still doesn't change the fact that I already don't have enough time away from the company." Tommy's face fell and Oliver quickly continued, "However, I know that it means a lot to you and, while I trust you, I'm a little bit hesitant to open a club associated with the Queen name without any influence from an actual Queen." He stopped at seeing the big frown on Tommy's face. Taking a deep breath, he finished. "I want Thea to be your partner in my place."

 

_Their weekly family dinner had once again ended with a cold stare-down between his mother and sister. After he kissed his mother goodnight, Oliver made his way up to Thea's room. He softly knocked on her door before pushing it open._

_Thea was lying on her bed, staring at the TV and flipping through different channels. She briefly looked up to him before concentrating back on the task of finding something worth watching. "Did Mom send you again?"_

_"No, I actually want to talk to you about something," Oliver announced, moving closer to her bed._

_Thea sat up, throwing the remote control to the side. "Ollie, you're the only one who isn't bugging me about my future, so please don't start. Mom is bad enough."_

_Sitting down on the edge of her bed, his lips curved in a half-smile. "I won't, but I do have a proposition for you that might help with your situation."_

_Thea rolled her eyes, looking for the remote control once again. Oliver caught her hand, bringing her attention back to him. "Please hear me out first."_

_His sister sighed, her lips pressed into a white slash. "Alright, what is it?"_

_Triumphant, Oliver smiled, before briefly explaining Tommy's offer to her. "As CEO of Queen Consolidated, I don't have enough time to manage a night club. It doesn't change the fact that I would really like to do this with Tommy."_

_Thea frowned. "What has this to do with me?"_

_"Well, I thought you might be interested in helping me out. I need someone who can make decisions for me, someone I can trust and who has taste. You obviously need something to do and you also fit all my other requirements," Oliver explained further while gently laying his hand on her shoulder._

_"Why should I do it?" Thea challenged him, looking him square in the eyes._

_"Because I'm your brother and you love me. You also need something to do until you decide what you want to do in the future."_

_"Mom is going to be so angry with me," Thea snorted, before giving him a small smile. "That alone is worth doing it."_

_"Leave mom to me," Oliver insisted, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "Does this mean you're going to do it?"_

_Thea nodded her head once again, before Oliver enveloped her in a hug._

_Pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he stood up. "Thank you, Speedy."_

_"Don't call me that, Oliver," Thea scoffed, lying back down onto her bed while Oliver left the room, chuckling._

 

Coming out of his memory, Oliver looked over to his best friend. He was met with an astounded Tommy.

A minute of silence passed before Tommy seemed to regain himself. "Just to be clear, you want your 18-year-old sister to open and design a club with me." Oliver nodded and Tommy put his take out container on the coffee table. "You understand what this will mean for me, right?"

Oliver chuckled, thinking about the last time Tommy and Thea had disagreed on something. "I know she can be quite scary sometimes, but this is my only condition." Seeing that Tommy was not convinced yet, he tried again, leaning closer. "You and I both know that she has far better taste than the both of us combined. I know it isn't exactly what you had in mind, but it's the only way I can see this working. I already spoke to Thea and she agreed to it. So, what do you say, are we going to open a new club in Starling?"

Oliver held his hand out to Tommy whose eyebrows were still raised high. He was staring him down, but soon his face soften and his lips broke into a wide smile, before grabbing Oliver's hand.

"Yeah, man, we are," he agreed, shaking his hand.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> Next chapter will be up on Sunday, because I'm on vacation next week again! We finally meet Lily! Yay! I hope everybody likes her.
> 
> I will also be publishing a new story in the next week or so, something post season 3. Kind of season 4 AU.
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**April 5th, 2015**

Oliver was screwed. He sat in front of Felicity's apartment, trying to gather his courage to get out of the car. He had exactly five more minutes before he had to be there and it didn't seem like enough time.

In one hand, he was clutching the little gift bag with the toys he got for Lily and in his other hand he was holding his phone, staring at the numbers of the little clock, hoping that they would pass slower.

When it read 57, Oliver took a deep breath, opening his car door and getting out. Clicking the automatic lock, he made his way over to the door. He found her name on the wall easily and pressed the button beside it.

After a few seconds, she answered. "Oliver? I'm going to buzz you in, just come upstairs; I live on the second floor."

She sounded hectic and Oliver frowned slightly. Before he could say anything else, the door in front of him buzzed and he pushed it open. Gradually, he made his way up the stairs, looking at the two doors on each side of the floor, trying to remember her apartment number.

Seconds later, the door on the right side opened and a flushed Felicity greeted him. Her cheeks were rosy and she seemed like she'd just run a half-marathon.

"Oliver! Come on in," she welcomed him, stepping aside to make some space for him to enter. "I was trying to clean up some more before you came, but then Lily woke up and for some reason she was incredibly fussy." She stopped again, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, just come inside and I promise I'm gonna stop talking," she finished, letting out a puff of air while leaning against the side of the open door.

Amused, Oliver stepped through the doorway of her apartment. Her babbling eased his nerves and allowed him to release some of the tension in his shoulders.

Once she closed the door and Oliver had put his car keys down, he turned to her, leaning in. She met him halfway and their lips gently touched. His hand cupped her face while he felt her arms snake around his waist. The kiss was short, but he didn't care. Pulling away, he stroked her cheek, his lips turning upwards into a soft smile. "I missed you."

Felicity pressed a tender kiss against his jaw before leaning her head against his chest. "Me too."

Their moment was broken when a small cry sounded from the living room.

Oliver's body stiffened and his heart started to beat faster. This was it.

"And there is the little monster," Felicity joked, giving him one last squeeze before taking his hand. "Don't worry, Oliver. She is going to love you."

Oliver nodded, fear returning full force. Felicity's warm hand gave him some confidence and he let her pull him into her living room.

Her apartment seemed small, but it was everything Oliver had imagined it to be. The colors were bright and friendly and the decorations were light.

They entered the living room and Oliver immediately saw the little play pen standing in one of the corners of the room. A head with a fair amount of blonde hair tried to peek over the playpen, somehow failing because the railing was too high. Little hands were holding strongly onto the sides and he heard little whimpers.

Oliver stood still for a moment and Felicity gave his hand one last squeeze before letting go and walking over to the playpen. He watched as she bent down, picking something up from inside the playpen.

"Lily, remember we wanted the clip to stay in your hair. Didn't we wanna look pretty for Oliver?" She gently teased the small baby who just gurgled happily while Felicity put the clip back into her hair. After she fixed her hair, she pressed a small kiss to her head, before lifting her up into her arms.

Oliver held his breath, trying to get his emotions under control. The little girl was still so tiny and the way she was holding onto Felicity's shirt with her even tinier hand made his heart clench. The baby looked exactly like her mother; they had the same small nose and their eyes were the same shade of blue. She was as beautiful as her mother.

Yesterday, after he came home from his little shopping trip, he had read some chapters in the newly purchased baby book, hoping to prepare himself for today. Even though the book gave him a good idea about babies of Lily's age, it didn't prepare him for the emotions currently assaulting him. A wave of protectiveness and pure want were mixed with fear of not being worthy of the little girl's love.

His eyes met Felicity's and she gave him an encouraging smile. Oliver put the gift bag down on the sofa, wiping his hands on his jeans. He had no idea what to do next and he was sure he looked more than a little helpless.

Felicity took in his distressed expression and approached slowly. She stopped a few feet in front of him, turning her attention to the baby in her arms. "Lily, can you say 'hi' to mommy's friend Oliver?"

The little baby shyly turned her head into her mother's shoulder, hiding half of her face from Oliver.

"Don't be shy, baby. Oliver is really nice," Felicity cooed and Lily eyed him carefully, still clutching Felicity's shirt.

"I'm sorry, she hasn't met a lot of new people in the last few months, let alone men," his girlfriend apologized. "But anyway, Oliver, this is Liliana, my daughter."

Oliver couldn't stop staring at Lily. Unconsciously, he took a step forward, reaching out to touch the little girl. His hand stopped midway, unsure if he could do it.

Felicity seemed to sense his hesitation, scooting closer to him, closing the distance between his hand and Lily.

His hand seemed extremely big and crushing next to the little girl's head and Oliver let the tips of his fingers graze her soft hair, before pulling away again, feeling a warm sensation spread to the tips of his toes from where his fingers had made contact.

Lily didn't seem to mind his soft touch, still pressing close to her mother and Oliver's eyes met Felicity's. Her head was titled sideways and a gentle smile appeared on her lips. Oliver couldn't help but return it. "She is beautiful."

"Thank you," Felicity replied and Lily lifted her head from her shoulder. "How about we go sit on the carpet; Lily likes to play there." She suggested, pointing to the carpet in front of the small sofa.

Oliver nodded and after grabbing the gift bag, he followed her, sitting down next to her. He crossed his legs, getting comfortable on the floor.

"I got a little present for Lily; I hope that's okay with you," Oliver said, pushing the gift bag to Felicity who had put Lily on the carpet in front of her.

"Oliver, you didn't have to," Felicity thanked him.

Lily noticed the gift bag and started pulling at the handles. "Well, seems like Lily is happy about it. Do you wanna open it, sweetheart?" Felicity asked her, laying the bag in front of her. Lily started hitting it with her hand, squealing at the noise it made.

"How about mommy opens it for you, huh?" Felicity chuckled, grabbing the bag and pulling the items out of it.

With big eyes, Lily grabbed the black and white tiger, pulling it closer to her, eyeing it curiously, before poking his eyes.

A quiet laugh left Oliver's throat, happy that Lily liked her present.

Felicity unpacked the other two boxes and placed the stacking ring and the little xylophone in front of Lily. She seemed too busy with her new stuffed tiger to notice and Felicity turned to Oliver.

"Thank you. As you can see, she already loves that tiger," Felicity whispered, placing her arm over his shoulder and bringing him closer to her, giving him a chaste kiss. "It was very thoughtful of you."

Oliver laughed softly, taking her hand in his. "I had a little help, but I'm glad she likes it. Thank you for inviting me."

Felicity leaned her head against his shoulder, focusing her attention back onto Lily who had noticed the other two toys now. With her chubby hands, she reached for the stacking rings, knocking them over. The top part, a little red ball, rolled to Oliver and stopped right in front of him. Deliberately, Oliver picked it up, stretching his hand towards the little girl, offering her the ball.

Lily looked at her mother, seeming unsure what to do.

"You can take it, sweetheart. Oliver brought it for you," she encouraged her daughter, giving her a gentle smile.

Crawling closer to Oliver, Lily peered up to him, before grabbing the ball out of his hand. For a few seconds, she just studied the ball, turning it around with her hands.

Satisfied, Oliver looked at Felicity who was smiling at her daughter. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and then focused his attention back onto Lily, just in time to see the little girl jerkily thrusting her arm forward, successfully dropping the ball close to him. He reached for the red ball and picked it up.

"That was a good throw, Lily, but maybe we shouldn't throw this ball, it's kind of hard," Oliver addressed the baby, surprising himself and Felicity.

Even Lily looked at him surprised and somehow shocked her eyes wide open. She looked like she was going to start crying any second.

Quickly, Felicity got up and walked over to the playpen, grabbing a stuffed ball, before returning to them. She took the red ball from Oliver and handed him the soft ball.

"I see your mommy is prepared for everything," Oliver laughed softly, throwing the ball back to the baby who squealed, excited.

 

* * *

 

They played together for a little while longer, Oliver and Lily playing ball for most of the time. Felicity leaned against Oliver's shoulder, happily watching the two of them interact.

Oliver was surprised at how well the girl was able to throw the ball. It always landed within his reach and she never got tired of their little game.

Soon it was time for lunch. Felicity fed Lily some pureed vegetables, which the little girl had eaten up in no time at all. It was a huge bowl full and Oliver couldn't fathom where Lily put all that food. After she was done, Oliver and Felicity had a small snack, too. Once they finished, they sat on the carpet once more and resumed playing.

Oliver enjoyed watching the little girl laugh and squeal with happiness and he knew that he made the right decision. Felicity more than just made him happy and Lily just added to it.

Sometime later, Lily was starting to get fussy, crawling to her mother and stretching out her arms to her.

"Is it time for your nap, sweet pea?" His girlfriend asked, picking her daughter up.

Lily just snuggled closer and Felicity started to get up.

"I'm just going to put her down for her nap; I'll be back in a little bit. Make yourself at home," Felicity told Oliver, before disappearing into the hallway.

Oliver got up to and walked around her living room. He looked at her pictures, most of them being of Lily. A couple were with Sara and an older woman that was presumably her mother.

After a while, he sat down on the sofa, waiting patiently for her return and sometime later, she came through the living room door, an empty milk bottle in her hand. She placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa, before falling down beside him, snuggling closer.

Oliver immediately put his arm over her shoulder, pressing her into his side. Her head fell to the crook of his neck and she gently pressed a kiss to his jaw.

"I told you she would love you," Felicity whispered, finding his hand and linking their fingers together, placing them on his chest, close to her own face.

Oliver leaned his head down, pressing several kisses onto her head, before resting his cheek against it. "I should listen to you more often then."

They were quiet for a while, before Felicity looked up to him. "I'm serious, Oliver. Just watching the two of you today… made me feel things I never felt before and I can't thank you enough for being such a persistent, charming man who didn't give up on me."

"Well, it would have been very embarrassing if you turned me down the first time we met," Oliver mused, his lips turning upward into a smile. "And you know, you can also be pretty stubborn sometimes, but it's adorable, don't worry."

Laughing, Felicity smacked his chest, before aligning their faces, pressing her lips against his in a gentle kiss.

"You don't have to thank me, you know," Oliver started, after they pulled apart. "I'm just as happy as you are, Felicity." He paused again, unsure if he should continue. "Some time ago, Diggle invited me to dinner at his house after I had kind of a bad day at the office. When we arrived, he was greeted by his family and all I could do was stare at them. They seemed so happy and I wanted that, too. And now that I met you and Lily, I feel like I have a chance of having the exact same thing." He confessed, looking into his girlfriend's eyes, which were shining with tears.

"I'd like that too, Oliver," she replied, pulling him down into passionate kiss.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> More Lily and Oliver cuteness to come today! Yay! I'm on vacation this week, so I'll upload a new chapter next Monday, when I am back! :)
> 
> I will also be publishing a new story, when I come back. Something post season 3. Kind of season 4 AU.
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**April 14th, 2015**

He sighed. He wasn't a big fan of rain and, to his luck, it rained the last two days almost non-stop. Adding to that, his day had been lousy. First, his mother had come to the office, lecturing him about Thea and her involvement in opening the new club. Their argument had gone nowhere and at some point Oliver had just left, telling her that he had a meeting to get to, which was actually true. Said meeting was so long that he had to cancel his lunch plans with Felicity, making him even angrier than he already was.

To say his mood was not the best right now was the understatement of the year.

Taking a deep breath and trying to shake the bad day off, he propped his umbrella next to Felicity's door. Once he gathered himself a bit more, he tapped lightly on the wood.

"It's open, Oliver, come in," she yelled from the inside and just hearing her voice did more to lighten his mood than all the pep talks he could give himself.

A whiff of freshly cooked food greeted him when he entered and his fists unclenched at the scent. Oliver bent down, untying his shoes and placing them next to Felicity's heels.

Following Lily's babbles, he made his way to the little kitchen and dining room area that adjoined the living room. Rounding the corner, he saw Lily playing on her blanket next to the kitchen counter separating the two areas. She was busy playing with one of her toys, not noticing him entering.

Another sigh left his mouth and he felt some of the tension ease out of his posture when his eyes finally landed on Felicity.

She was standing at the stove, wearing one of her dresses with an apron on top, stirring something in a pot. Her eyes where shining brightly behind her glasses, her mouth curved into a happy smile. "I'm making dinner."

His lips, which were pressed tightly together, lifted up slightly, giving her the barest of smiles. "I can see that."

Turning down the heat of the stove, she placed the spoon next to the pot and approached him. Without another word, she opened his suit jacket, carefully gliding it off his shoulders and placing it on one of the bar stools next to them, before reaching for his tie, loosening it and sliding it from around his neck. Her tiny hands made quick work of his cufflinks, putting them aside and folding his sleeves to above the elbow.

Once she was done, she pushed closer to him, bracketing him in her embrace, her head resting on his chest.

Oliver let his head fall onto hers, closing his eyes. "Thank you."

She always knew what he needed and right now, he ached to be Oliver Queen, to spend time with his girlfriend and her daughter. He was not in the mood to be Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Consolidated.

Her hands ran up to his shoulders, gently stroking over his tensed muscles, giving him the much needed comfort and assurance he yearned for.

He felt his muscles loosen under her tender touch and he melted into her embrace, pressing her tightly against his chest, taking a few deep breaths. He had missed her.

She pulled back slightly, giving him a small smile, before standing up on her tiptoes and connecting their lips. Here, getting lost in the feeling of her, he could almost forget about his terrible day.

She was suckling at his bottom lip, both distracting and arousing him. He craved her touch after today, and his muscles relaxed more under the gentle touch of her hands across his back, easing the rest of the tension from his body.

His hands glided down her back, stopping on her bottom, pressing her closer to him. A breathy moan left her lips and his heart started to beat faster. By now, he couldn't even remember the reason for his bad mood earlier.

His head was spinning and his senses were filled with everything that was Felicity.

The kiss was getting more heated by the second, until an angry cry reminded them that they weren't alone.

Slowing their kiss, he pulled away from her, quickly lowering his head to her neck, pressing a few kisses against her throat, before following her gaze down to an angry looking Lily.

She had crawled over to them and was now seated at their feet, stretching her arms up.

A chuckle left Felicity's lips as she bent down, picking her up. "Are you feeling neglected, little one?" She pressed a kiss to her head. "Did you miss Oliver too, sweetheart?"

Lily looked at Oliver with her blue eyes wide open and started gurgling happily before stretching her arms out to him.

Oliver stiffened, surprise and fear running through his body. Until this point, he hadn't held her, but seeing her reach for him, obviously wanting him to hold her, made his heart race.

Lily started to wiggle in Felicity's arms and he gently placed a hand on the girl's back, slowly reaching for her.

His eyes met Felicity's, both of them silently asking for approval and permission. She obviously didn't want him to feel obliged to hold her, and he wanted to make sure she was comfortable with it. Before he could overthink it, he was putting his hands under the baby's arms, lifting her out of his girlfriend's arms into his.

Felicity's hands followed him, guiding him to hold her against his side, placing one of his hands under the baby's thigh and his other against her back. Making sure he was holding her safely, she stepped back a little, letting her hands fall to her side.

He concentrated on the baby in his arms, her little hand resting on his shoulder. The area where her hand was resting immediately started to feel warm and tingly and he felt the sensation run through his body, warming him up from the inside.

All the fear left his body and he started to enjoy the feeling of Lily in his arms. He relaxed, meeting her shining blue eyes, looking expectedly at him. Her hand reached for his stubbly cheek, running her fingers over it.

Not daring to breathe, he held his breath, closing his eyes, relishing this moment, never wanting to forget how it felt to first hold her.

It was nothing compared to them playing together, which was a common occurrence these days. Whenever Oliver was over at Felicity's, which frankly happened a lot, he played with Lily on the carpet, sometimes with Felicity, sometimes without her. They always had fun and they made each other laugh.

"She has you wrapped around her finger already," Felicity whispered, putting an arm around his waist, leaning against his chest and pulling him out of his thoughts.

Puffing out some air, Oliver let the hand on Lily's back wander to Felicity's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "I really needed this today. Thank you, Felicity."

He pressed a kiss to her hair.

"You don't have to thank me. We might not have had a bad day, but we missed you anyways." She peered up at Lily, stroking her head. "Didn't we, baby girl? We really needed one of Oliver's big hugs too. He is such a good snuggler, isn't he?"

Lily looked at her mother, smiling her one toothed smile, before concentrating on his cheek again, scratching her fingers over it.

The love Oliver felt for the two people in his arms overwhelmed him. He had to bite his tongue not to blurt it out. They weren't ready for that yet.

Feeling lighter than before, he glanced down at his girlfriend, seeing her lips turned upward into a genuine smile. His words weren't necessary, because just looking into her eyes told him that she felt it too. Briefly touching their lips together, he let his arm slide back to Lily's back.

"Well, sweetheart, mommy is gonna finish dinner now," Felicity said, pressing a kiss to Lily's head. "You can put her down on her blanket again, if you want to," she said to Oliver, before returning to the stove, picking up the spoon again.

"I think I'll just hold her a little while longer," Oliver responded, moving to sit on one of the bar stools standing at the kitchen counter. The truth was, now that he was holding her, he couldn't imagine putting her down anytime soon. It felt right.

Once he sat down, he held Lily up in front of him, letting her place her feet on his legs. "Alright, Lily, I don't know what I'm doing, so go easy on me."

Lily stretched her little hands out and placed them on his cheeks again. Scratching softly, she started babbling again.

He still had a hard time getting his feelings under control. Now that he was holding the girl in his arms, feeling her small hands touch his cheeks, he couldn't believe that he was once so afraid of this.

The fear of letting her fall down or holding her too tight vanished from his mind and were replaced with the warm and pleasant feeling of holding her close to him.

Lily started to wiggle and he carefully placed her down on his legs, pressing her close to his side, one arm around her, while grabbing one of the books that was lying on the counter. She placed her head against his chest as he started to read the book to her, something about animals.

"Look at the two of you all cozy," Felicity piped up; standing next to the chair they were sitting on. "Dinner is ready and we should eat before it gets cold."

Oliver looked up to her, surprised that he hadn't realized she was standing next to him. Lily slapped the book and Oliver gently pried it out of her hands, placing it back on the counter.

The little girl started to whine, waving her hands through the air.

He stiffened, holding his breath. "What's wrong?"

"She's just mad that you didn't finish the book with her and she's probably tired too. Once we finish, I have to feed her and put her to bed, before she gets too fussy," Felicity laughed, taking Lily out of his arms.

His hands followed her, resting on Lily's back. "Well, thank you for being so easy, Lily bear. I promise we can play more tomorrow."

"You're the biggest softie I've ever met, Oliver," Felicity expressed, gently patting his chest before walking over to Lily's high chair, placing her in it.

"I've never heard you complaining about it before," he replied, walking over to her and pressing himself against her back. Lowering his mouth to the sensitive skin behind her ear, he tenderly gave it a soft nip, making Felicity squirm in front of him.

"Let's just start eating, before anything else happens here," Felicity said, sitting down at the table, ignoring his cocky grin.

 

* * *

 

"Alright, Lily, say goodnight to Oliver," Felicity said as she walked into the living room, a freshly bathed Lily in her arms.

Oliver, who was sitting on one of the barstools in the kitchen, stood up and walked over to them. Stretching his arms out, he reached for Lily, taking her from Felicity, pressing her close to him.

"Alright, Lily, I hope you sleep well, sweetheart. Don't wake Mommy up too much," Oliver whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the baby's forehead. Lily just cuddled up to him, grabbing the collar of his shirt in her hand.

"Thank you for cleaning up," his girlfriend said, rubbing her hand over his arm and pressing a kiss against his bicep. "I'll make her bottle."

He watched her walk further into the kitchen, smiling to himself. After she cooked and took care of Lily, the least he could do was clean.

Concentrating back on Lily, he gently laid his cheek against her head, cupping her whole head with his other hand. She still seemed so small with her 8 months and he was overwhelmed by the love and protection he was feeling for the girl in his arms. He closed his eyes, pressing his lips to the crown of her head for a lingering kiss, swaying slowly from side to side as he felt her breath even out against his neck. Walking over to the sofa, he sat down.

Felicity soon came over, smiling brightly at the sight in front of her, handing Oliver the milk bottle. She helped him shift Lily around in his arms, cradling her against his chest while offering her the bottle of milk; she hastily took it in her mouth. Once both Oliver and Lily seemed comfortable, she sat down next to him, leaning against his shoulder and placing one of her hands against her daughter's back.

Lily already seemed to be sleeping, drinking the bottle with closed eyes. Within five minutes, the bottle was empty and Felicity took it from Oliver, placing it on the coffee table in front of them.

"I should put her in her crib," she murmured, sitting up on the sofa.

"Can we just sit here for a while longer?"

He didn't want to let go of her just yet, or better, he never want to let go of her again. Looking at the sleeping baby in his arms, he felt Felicity lean back against him again. He lifted up one of his arms, allowing her to scoot closer, putting her head in the crook of his neck.

"I've never felt like this before," he whispered.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" She stilled, her lips pressing the barest of a kiss against his jaw.

"It's just... I never imagined having such strong feelings for someone; it's scary and wonderful at the same time. I feel like I never want to let her go and protect her from everything bad in this world." He paused, squeezing her arm. "Both of you."

She slightly relaxed again, sinking back into him. Continuing to stroke her daughter's back, she stayed quiet.

Afraid that he said something wrong, Oliver looked down at her. Her eyes were soft, glowing in the dimmed light of the room, her lips slightly parted, the corners turned up.

Pushing his fear away, he pressed his lips against her head. "I know that we just started this, but I won't leave you until you tell me to, and even then I'll probably fight you."

"I won't ask you to leave," she answered promptly, angling her head upwards to look at him.

He leaned towards her, brushing his lips against hers in a tender kiss.

Right then, he knew he had made the right decision in getting involved with Felicity. He couldn't remember a time where he felt this content and at ease at the same time. He had exactly what he wished for and even though they had a long way to go, he knew it was going to be worth it, because at the end of the day, he had the two most important people in his life who were always going to welcome him back in their home, making him feel loved, no matter what kind of day he had.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> After a good vacation and a terrible Sunday (my flight got canceled), I'm finally updating again. I tried to update yesterday, but for some reasons it didn't work and I was too tired to figure it out then. Sorry for the delay. I will upload the new picture sets later today. 
> 
> I will also publish my new story either today or tomorrow, depending on how long I can stay awake. Look out for 'Nobody said it was easy'.
> 
> Next one will be up on Saturday.
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**April 25th, 2015**

Limbs tangled together, Oliver and Felicity were lying on the sofa, their mouths attached. Felicity's soft lips moved in time with his, driving him crazy, making him forget all his noble promises. He couldn't stop from pressing further into her and when her tongue swept across his lips, raking inside his mouth, he clutched her shoulders, desperately hoping that his arms wouldn't give out, crushing her into the sofa.

Her hand slipped under his shirt, tracing his spine. The moment he felt the warmth of her hand on the bare skin of his back he groaned into her mouth.

"Felicity," Oliver breathed, burying his face in her neck, starting to nip at her throat. "Lily is going to wake up any minute."

"I know, just don't stop," she purred as he latched onto a spot just below her ear and began suckling hot kisses along her jaw line and down her neck. Squirming, she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling his hips flush against hers.

He took in a sharp breath, pressing closer to her, giving in to her need for more. A tiny moan escaped her lips, and Oliver felt all his blood shoot south, making him even more uncomfortable than he already was. Before he had time to think, their lips were pressed together once again, moving against each other quickly, as if trying to make the most of the little time they had left.

Unable to resist her any longer, he moved his hips against hers while slowly raising her shirt up, just enough to slip his hand under it. He felt her suck in a breath as his knuckles skimmed along her soft, warm skin. Getting lost in the feeling of her body pressed so close against his, moving with him and creating the much-needed friction they both craved, he stopped thinking about any consequences.

A shrill cry sounded trough the baby monitor and Oliver stopped moving. The sound cleared the fog of pleasure from his head and he half-heartedly slowed their kiss before letting his head sink into the crook of her neck. He felt Felicity's hand retreat from under his shirt, smoothing it down and placing her warm hand between his shoulders.

They were both breathing heavily and Oliver took a deep breath, pressing a soothing kiss to her jaw. "I told you she would wake up any minute."

"I'm sorry; I got carried away," Felicity apologized, threading her fingers through his hair. Her hot breath fanned across his ear, sending another wave of pleasure through him.

"It's not like I didn't want it," he replied honestly, pushing himself off her with a sheepish grin and sitting up on the sofa. He needed some distance between them if he was going to calm down. He offered her a hand, pulling her up as well. "I just need a minute."

Chuckling, she nodded, pressing an apologetic kiss against his cheek, before following the sounds of Lily's cries into her bedroom. Oliver remained in the living room, sitting back on the sofa, trying to calm down.

He felt his control slip more often these days, finding no strength or will to resist his instinct to have his way with Felicity. It wasn't the first time they were making out while Lily napped in the other room, but it always stopped him from taking it further. It was late April, a rainy Saturday, and six weeks had passed since the day they met.

They hadn't had a chance to spend much time alone together or even go on another date, which Oliver didn't mind most of the time. He accepted that Lily was part of his relationship and he enjoyed being around her. Days like today, though, made him want to have some time alone with Felicity. He knew that they were both ready for the next step in their relationship, more than ready actually, but he also knew that they weren't able to take that step as long as Lily was in the apartment with them. As much as he loved and adored her, he was in some desperate need of some alone time with his girlfriend.

Taking a few deep breaths, he skimmed a hand through his hair, closing his eyes.

Felicity emerged from Lily's room, pulling him out of his thoughts, a sleepy-looking Lily in her arms. They sat down next to him and he extended his arm, letting Felicity snuggle against his chest.

"Did you have a good nap, Lily?" He rubbed her back, pressing a soft kiss to her head. The little girl closed her eyes once more, relaxing in the embrace of her mother. "Aren't you a tired little girl, sweetheart?"

Lily didn't budge and silence filled the room. It didn't happen often that they had a quiet minute together. Usually, Lily kept them on their toes, but according to Felicity, she didn't sleep well last night and was apparently still catching up.

 

* * *

 

Much later, they were standing in the kitchen, alone again, cleaning up after putting Lily to bed. Felicity was standing in front of the sink, washing some of the dishes.

"When I found out I was pregnant, I also got a job offer from Queen Consolidated," she broke the silence in the room.

Stopping his task of wiping the table, he turned around, looking over to her. "Are you serious?"

Queen Consolidated didn't just sent out job offers to anybody. They were one of the best companies in the country for a reason. "How good were you exactly?"

He saw her still, placing the clean pot on the rack next to the sink. "I was top of my class. I wanted to do my masters in cyber security and they even offered to let me finish it online or at MIT." Turning off the faucet, she paused, drying her hands with a kitchen towel. "In the end, I declined. I was already struggling with the whole pregnancy thing and even though it was all I ever wanted, I knew that it wasn't the right time."

"Felicity, I'm sorry." Eliminating the distant between them, Oliver walked over to her, stopping behind her. His hand landed on her shoulder, smoothing over the exposed skin. She had lost much more than he realized in the two years, and yet she was still this amazingly strong woman.

"There is nothing to be sorry for, Oliver. It was my decision and I don't regret it. I love Lily and I wouldn't change a thing if I could," she replied fiercely, turning around to face him. "Working in the coffee shop is good enough for now and sometimes I fix computers on the side."

Just hearing her talk about money made Oliver uneasy. He never had to worry about not having enough and it made him admire his girlfriend even more. He knew that she wasn't earning a lot in the coffee shop, and even if she fixed some computers on the side, it would be just enough to pay the living expenses. A child was expensive, and although he never had a doubt in Felicity, he knew that at some point, money was going to become a problem.

Cupping her cheek, he gently angled her face towards his, meeting her compassionate, blue eyes. "You have me now, Felicity. I promise you that you will never have to struggle again."

A huff left her lips and she stared past him, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"I know that you're a grown woman who is more than able to earn her own money and pay her way, but I want you to know that I would never hesitate to help you if you need anything," he tried to soothe her, his hand wandering from her cheek to her shoulder.

She exhaled loudly, uncurling her arms, letting them fall to her sides. "I know it's just that I'm not with you because I need your money. I mean you have billions and I'm not saying that some women don't find that attractive. I actually think half of Starling likes you just because of that." She stopped, closing her eyes for a second. "Not that it's the only thing people like about you. You are extremely attractive, even without your money." Stopping again, Felicity pressed her hand to her forehead, scrunching her face up and taking a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm not with you because of your money. I'm with you because you are a great man. You care so much and I see the way you look at Lily." Titling her head upwards, she looked into his eyes, placing a hand on his arm. "So yes, you might be a billionaire who doesn't have to worry about money, but to me, you're a man who loves his family and would do anything for them."

Through her whole speech, Oliver had held his breath and hearing her say those last few words, made his heart beat faster. Without hesitation or much thought, he said, "I love you."

As soon as his words were out, her eyes started to tear up and in the next second, their lips were glued together in a tender kiss and she was plastered to his body. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close to him.

When they parted, Felicity leaned her head against his chest, her arms winding around his waist, clutching his shirt in her hands.

"I love you too," she whispered into his shirt.

Oliver tightened his arm around her, feeling like his heart might explode any second now. His head was swirling and he couldn't form any words. Hearing her say those three words was more than he ever hoped for. When he first met her, he counted himself lucky to get her to talk to him. Now, she was in his arms and he was confessing his love to her. Nobody had ever managed to make him feel like this and now that he knew this feeling, he never wanted it to end. He would do anything and everything for Felicity and Lily.

For a long time, neither spoke, letting their confessions sink in.

"You know, I can also help you with getting into Queen Consolidated," he broke the silence, bringing the conversation back to its original topic. "If they sent you an offer once, I'm pretty sure they would do it again."

Breaking their embrace, Felicity leaned back until she was out of his reach. He immediately felt the loss of her warmth and wanted to step closer to her, but she lifted up a hand, stopping him. "I haven't even finished my degree, Oliver. Why should they hire me?" She turned toward the sink again, grabbing the sponge. "Don't get me wrong, it's really sweet of you, but I just don't think it would make any sense."

Her voice sounded strained and the way she squeezed the bottle of dish soap, putting a fair amount of it onto the sponge in her hand, told him that she was slightly frustrated with their conversation.

Ignoring her earlier warning, he stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle, letting his lips brush against her neck.

"Well for starters, it's my name on the building, so if I ask, they'll do it," he started, but he felt her tense in his arms once again. "Nobody knows that we are together yet, and I could just arrange an interview with the head of the IT department. If they think you are a good fit, even without your degree, we could talk about hiring you and maybe even helping you finish your degree."

She sighed, taking one of the remaining pots in her hands, scrubbing it rather forcefully. "Oliver, I know you mean well, but I'm not sure this is the right approach," she said with a strong, clear voice. "I appreciate you trying to help me, but I think I should do this on my own."

There was nothing left to say for him, so he pressed a kiss to her neck before letting go of her, leaving her to finish the dishes. Moving into the living room, he stared mindlessly at the baby monitor on the coffee table. His heart was thumping fast in his chest and he swallowed hard, feeling as if they just took a step back from their earlier confessions. Why did he have to push this on her?

He heard the faucet turning off and the soft tapping of her bare feet moving closer to him, before her arms wrapped around his waist.

Her head pressed into his back, her voice low. "I'm sorry. This is just a sore subject for me."

"You don't have to apologize, Felicity." His hands covered hers and he felt his muscles relax again. "I'll do whatever you want me to, just know that I'll support you in whatever decision you make. I mean I hope you don't wanna move back to Boston and even if you want that we will find a way to make this work." He stopped, catching his ramble. "I just want you to know that I was serious when I told you I loved you. And Lily. Nothing is going to change that and I won't think any less of you if you decide to work in the coffee shop for the rest of your life."

He felt her take in a shaking breath and he gently loosened her arms, turning around to look at her. Tears were pooling in her eyes for the second time today and he once again framed her face, pressing his forehead to hers. She seemed overwhelmed. "I'm sorry, Felicity. I know I can be pushy sometimes, but I'll try to stop, ok? I promise."

"That's not what this is about," she whispered, cupping his cheek with her hands. "I meant it, too. It's just that nobody ever cared about me this much." She shrugged her shoulders. "After having Lily, I never imagined finding someone who would accept both of us, but here you are, proving me wrong."

"Well, you better get used to it, Miss Smoak, because I don't plan on changing that anytime soon."

She lifted her head, connecting their lips, giving him a gentle kiss. "Just for the record, I won't move back to Boston. My life is here in Starling City now."

"Thank god, I thought I had to move Queen Consolidated's headquarters to another city," Oliver joked, breaking the tension between them.

"No, I'm happy right here," Felicity reassured him, tracing the neckline of his shirt with a red polished nail. "I don't think Lily would appreciate moving somewhere else either. She's really attached to you."

"I'm quite attached to her, too, trust me. There is nothing I wouldn't do to see her smile for the rest of her life."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> I published my new story 'Nobody said it was easy' some days ago and I actually posted another chapter today too! Check it out!
> 
> Next for this story will be up next Saturday!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. I haven't uploaded any new ones for the last chapters, but when I find time, I'll do that. Maybe tomorrow! The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**May 7th, 2015**

Exactly a year ago, Oliver's world collapsed around him. Standing at his graveside with what remained of his family, he couldn't help but be assaulted with memories of his father. He knew from the silence of his mother and sister that they were stuck in their own recollections.

Oliver was holding a silently crying Thea, attempting to soothe her as tears streamed from her eyes and soaked his shirt. A small sob escaped her throat, her fingers fisting in his shirt while his hand rubbed circles on her back.

"We shouldn't cancel our weekly family dinner today. Robert wouldn't have wanted that," his mother spoke up, straightening her back.

"Mom, I don't know if this is such a good idea," he admitted, pressing a calming kiss onto Thea's head. His own throat started to close up and he swallowed hard.

The truth was, he just wanted to go home to Felicity and Lily and spent the rest of the day with them, trying to stop feeling like he had let his father down by not being a better CEO. He needed some happiness on this sad day, something to remind him that he was doing the right thing in following his father's footsteps, even though he was clearly not doing the best job.

"No, Oliver. We're going to have this dinner; maybe we can invite Tommy," she suggested, her face remaining stoic the whole time. She turned away from the grave and started walking towards their car in long, steady strides.

He sighed, trailing after Moira and pulling Thea with him. It had been a while since his sister had been this quiet, which worried him. She seemed to do better helping Tommy find a property for their club. There were fewer fights with their mother, fewer drunken phone calls, and no incidents of her sneaking into clubs. All that aside, Oliver would be lying if he said he wasn't worried the anniversary would be a setback for her. She'd made so much progress and he'd hate to see her regress.

He wished he could skip dinner tonight, not wanting to sit through more awkward silence and strained conversation with his mother and sister, but he also knew that Thea needed him more than ever today and he wasn't about to let her down. If only Felicity could be there with him. Just seeing Lily and her for the afternoon didn't seem enough.

Frowning, he got an idea.

"Mom, I would like to bring somebody to our dinner," he said.

His mother just nodded in approval, not turning around to look at him or even ask whom he was going to bring. It might have offended him or made him angry a couple of years ago, but everything was different now. Moira had her own way of coping with her husband's death and Oliver learned early on that it was best to just let her be.

Once everybody was seated and the driver started to drive, he fished his phone out of his pocket, sending a quick text to Felicity.

 

* * *

 

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Today might not be the best day to meet the family, Oliver," Felicity tried again, shifting Lily onto her other side, settling her on her hip.

"Felicity, relax. I think today is the perfect day. They need to have some happiness and I'm sure that they're going to love you and Lily. Please don't worry," Oliver reassured her, pressing a kiss against her cheek.

They were standing outside Felicity's apartment, waiting for Diggle. After making sure that his mother and sister were ok for the rest of the day, he had gone to Felicity's apartment. She just came home from work and had put Lily down for her afternoon nap, leaving them with some alone time to spend cuddled up on the sofa.

Oliver had allowed himself to grieve, wrapped in Felicity's arms, feeling safe and loved. She had just held him, pressing a kiss against his head every now and then, whispering sweet words into his ear. It was exactly what he needed and he was more than thankful for having her by his side.

A little later, they started to get ready and Felicity had started to worry about her choice of wardrobe. He had somehow managed to soothe her worries, urging her to get ready and telling her she would look beautiful no matter what she was wearing.

The car stopped in front of them and he opened the back door closest to the curb, helping Felicity inside before following her.

"When did you get that?" She asked surprised, pointing at the brand new car seat next to her, carefully placing Lily inside and strapping her in. "I haven't even thought about bringing her car seat with us. Oh my god, I'm a terrible mother."

"No, you're not. We've never driven anywhere with Lily, so why should you think about it?" Oliver questioned, knowing that she was just stressing herself out over meeting his family. "I got it a few weeks ago. I wanted to be prepared, in case we ever need to take Lily somewhere. Diggle installed it and since he has a daughter of his own, you can be sure that it is all safe." He explained, pressing a kiss onto her head.

"That's thoughtful of you, Oliver. You're sweet," his girlfriend replied, putting her seatbelt on once Lily was all strapped in.

"I'm not sweet, Felicity. I'm a man," he grumbled quietly, putting his seatbelt on as well, before putting his arm over her shoulder.

"Alright, you two. Everybody ready?" Diggle interrupted them, turning around.

"I'm sorry, John. We're all ready to go and thank you for installing the car seat," Felicity thanked him.

"That's my job, Felicity," he replied, starting the car and driving towards the mansion.

 

* * *

 

Opening the front door, he gestured for Felicity to precede him into the mansion.

"Mister Oliver," Raisa's voice sounded up as they stepped inside and he followed the sound of her voice, spotting her at the other side of the foyer. "It's good to see you again," she greeted him as she came closer. "Everybody is already in the dining room waiting. Mister Tommy is there as well." Stopping in front of him, she patted his cheek gently.

Kissing her cheek, he handed her Lily's diaper bag. "Hello Raisa, it's good to see you too. Do you mind bringing this into my room?"

"Of course, Mister Oliver. Who is your friend and this little one?" She asked, smiling at Lily and Felicity.

"This is my girlfriend, Felicity, and her daughter, Liliana." Turning to Felicity, who had been more than a little quiet in the last few minutes, he introduced her, "Felicity, this is Raisa, our housekeeper and my old nanny."

Putting his arm around Felicity's waist, he saw her lips tugging upwards.

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Felicity. You seem to make Mister Oliver very happy," Raisa told her, gently patting Lily's back who was hiding her face in her mother's shoulder.

"Thank you, it's nice to meet you too," Felicity replied, pushing herself closer to him.

Giving her hip a reassuring squeeze, he watched as Raisa disappeared again and he softly pushed Felicity towards the dining room. Stopping in front of the door, he asked, "Are you ready?"

Felicity gulped, smoothing her dress down, before readjusting Lily's clip and dress as well. "No, I don't think so."

"It's alright; I'll be right next to you the whole time. Trust me?" Letting go of her, he stood in front of her, their eyes locked. She slowly nodded and he pressed one more kiss against her forehead, before turning around and opening the door, his hand interlaced with hers.

Upon entering, he saw his mother and sister sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace, each of them with a drink in hand. Tommy was standing behind them and once they noticed the door being opened, they turned their attention to the door.

"I'm sorry, we're a little late," Oliver apologized, plastering a friendly smile onto his face before pulling Felicity through the door as well. "We got held up."

His mother and sister were both staring at them with open mouths and wide eyes.

Before anybody could say anything, he put his arm around Felicity, holding her close to him. "As I mentioned earlier, I brought somebody." Looking down to Felicity who was clutching his shirt in her hand on his back, he continued. "This is Felicity, my girlfriend, and her daughter, Liliana."

Felicity took a shaky breath, her lips turning into a soft smile. Lily was still hiding her face in her mother's neck, clearly not comfortable with so many new people. She whined softly and Oliver quickly moved to her other side, wanting to ease some of her fear by being closer to her, placing a hand on her back.

His mother and sister were still staring at them, but it was Tommy who moved first. A genuine smile appeared on his face and Oliver pushed Felicity a little closer to the group, not moving away from her side.

Tommy stopped in front of them, extending his hand. "It's so nice to finally put a face to the woman Ollie can't stop talking about. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Tommy Merlyn, Ollie's best friend."

Felicity detached her hand from his back, taking Tommy's outstretched hand, shaking it. "It's nice to meet you, too. I apologize on Lily's behalf; she hasn't met a lot of people yet."

"That's alright. I'm sure she is going to warm up a little bit," Tommy stated, giving Oliver a pat on the shoulder. "Boy, you never mentioned how beautiful she is."

Oliver chuckled, pulling a blushing Felicity closer to him. Although he knew that Tommy would never try anything, he felt protective of her.

"Well, Oliver, you never mentioned you had a girlfriend. How long have you two been together?" Oliver's mother sounded up, standing up from the sofa, coming over to them.

"It has been a little over two months now," he answered, straightening his back and making himself slightly taller. He imagined that his mother might cause some trouble. She always seemed to have her own opinion of who exactly he should date and Felicity clearly wasn't a fit. Lily didn't fit into her picture at all, but he hoped she would warm up to them, knowing that there wasn't anybody else for him.

"Very well then, Miss ..." Moira started.

"Smoak. Felicity Smoak," his girlfriend answered quickly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Moira titled her head to the side, surprise crossing her face. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Smoak."

"You too, Mrs. Queen," Felicity replied, smoothing a hand over her daughter's head, hoisting her up a little on her hip.

Tension filled the room and Oliver gulped once. He didn't think his mother would act so coldly and he felt guilty for putting Felicity on the spot. Once again, he tighten his arm around her waist, pressing her closer to him, trying to give her the comfort, she seemed to desperately need. He felt her muscles tense and her grip on Lily tightening as if she was unsure if she could trust the woman in front of her.

"I, for one, am very pleased to meet you, Felicity," Thea spoke up, moving closer to the group and standing in front of their mother. "I'm happy to see my brother found someone that is not his typical cliché of a woman. I hope he treats you well."

Oliver groaned, closing his eyes for a second. "Thea!"

"It's alright, Oliver." His girlfriend's hand moved back to his back, trailing her fingers over his shoulder blade. "I've heard a lot about you. And I can assure you that he has been nothing but good to Lily and me. I'm not like his other women, not that he has any other woman." She paused again, biting her cheek and closing her eyes for a second. "What I mean is I'm not with him because of his money or his charm. Well, he did try to charm me with his good looks, but it didn't work. Not that he isn't good looking, I mean just look at him." Thea was biting her bottom lip with her teeth, a smile creeping onto her face. Felicity's eyes widened. "Can we just forget about that? Sometimes my brain to mouth filter doesn't work as it's supposed to."

Thea couldn't hold it any longer and burst out laughing. Even Oliver chuckled quietly, pressing a small kiss against Felicity's temple. He was glad that his sister seemed to approve of her.

"I really like you, Felicity. I feel like we are going to be very good friends," Thea smiled, turning her attention to Lily. "Well, look at you pretty girl. I really like your clip. It matches your dress so nicely."

Thea stretched her hand out, brushing the little girl's head. Lily pushed herself closer to Felicity.

"How about we sit down by the fireplace until dinner is served?" Oliver suggested, guiding them back to the little sitting area by the fireplace.

Felicity sat down next to Thea on the long sofa, placing Lily on her lap so that she was facing the younger woman. Tommy joined them, leaning back on the sofa opposite them.

Thea started talking to Felicity and it seemed civilized enough that Oliver decided to have a little talk with his mother. He gave Felicity's hand a short squeeze, briefly looking into her eyes, before walking over to his mother and gently guiding her towards the little bar, walking her out of reach from the other's ears.

"Mother, I need you to be nice to Felicity," Oliver pressed out, his voice low and deep.

"Oliver, you know I only want the best for you. I don't see that young woman and her daughter being a good factor for your future," his mother stated, filling up her drink.

"Well, I'm not asking for your permission, mother," he growled quietly. "This is my life and I can choose the people I surround myself with."

"Do you even know anything about this woman?" She hissed. Oh, she was angry.

"Don't you mean, do I know that Queen Consolidated offered her a job two years ago?" Oliver asked. He saw the look his mother got when she learned of Felicity's last name. His father must have told her about the young and promising talent that was Felicity Smoak. "Yes, I know about it. She told me some time ago and I even offered her the position again, but she declined."

Moira was quiet, looking over at the group of people at the fireplace. Lily seemed to have warmed up a bit, now sitting on the sofa between Felicity and Thea, playing with the stuffed tiger Oliver got her when they first met.

"Contrary to what you think, Felicity is an incredibly strong woman who is not with me because of what the media says about me," he continued, a bit calmer now. "She has gone through a lot in the last years and she is still this happy, quirky woman who has a stunningly big heart." He paused, taking a deep breath. "She makes me happy and I love her. Just as much as I love Lily."

"So you're planning on being Lily's father? I take it he is not in the picture." His mother straightened her back, avoiding his gaze.

Bowing his head, Oliver puffed out some air. His mother was asking questions he didn't have answers to. Did he think about being Lily's father? He would be lying if he said no, because he thought about it more than once. However, he was also not sure if he was ready for that step. He loved Felicity and Lily and he couldn't imagine being with anybody else, but becoming Lily's father was a choice that was irrevocable.

"I don't know, mom. We haven't talked about it and I would like you to accept that. When the time comes and we do make this decision, you will be the first to know," he answered honestly. "For now, I would like you to be nice to Felicity. I brought her today because I thought that everybody could use some happiness. I remember you teaching me that sharing what makes you happy could give other people some happiness, too. That's all I'm trying to do."

Moira nodded, the corner of her lips lifting up just a tiny bit and Oliver pressed a thankful kiss to her cheek, knowing that he had won their argument.

They walked over to the rest of the group and Oliver sat down next to Felicity. He took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze, before Lily required his attention. She had crawled around Felicity's back, pulling herself up on his shirt. He picked her up, giving her a kiss on her chubby cheek, before joining in on the conversation.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> Because I'm moving back to Germany this week, I won't be able to update until August 2nd or 3rd, which is next Sunday or Monday, sorry guys! I'm super busy right now, so without saying anything else, here is the new chapter!
> 
> I also updated my second story 'Nobody said it was easy'. Check it out!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. Hopefully once I'm settle again in Germany, I'll have time to do the picture sets, I'm sorry for the wait! The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**May 29th, 2015**

Oliver smoothed down his tie, picking up his suit jacket and putting it on. He looked in the mirror again, smoothing out more non-existing wrinkles from his jacket.

He was finally going on another date with Felicity while Lily stayed with Thea at the mansion.

At first, Felicity was worried sick, unsure if it was a good idea to leave her with the young woman. Felicity really liked Thea, but she was a mother first and mothers were supposed to worry all the time.

It wasn't the first time that Thea watched Lily. While she never did it alone, Oliver was sure that she was more than ready for it. Over the last few weeks after their dinner, Thea had spent more time with the little girl, adoring her and spoiling her with lots of new clothes. It took Oliver a while to convince Felicity that she just meant well. Felicity had felt a little hurt after a while, thinking that the clothes Lily usually wore were somehow not good enough in the eyes of the younger Queen, but Oliver quickly reassured her that Thea just loved Lily and that it was her way of expressing her love. Trying to stop her, he explained, might upset her more than just accepting all the new things Lily had now.

Thea seemed happier in the last few weeks, which made Oliver happy, too. After seeing that Lily and Thea were getting along just fine, he first suggested his idea to Felicity. It took some convincing and after telling her that Raisa and his mother were there, too, Felicity finally agreed.

His mother was finally warming up to Felicity and the idea of him being with her. They were on a first name basis now, and they were actually talking in a civilized manner.

Bringing Felicity to dinner was definitely one of the best ideas he had in a while. It helped everybody forget their sadness and loss for a little while, making them seem lighter since that day.

 

_Shortly after his talk with his mother, they started eating. The atmosphere was much lighter than before and Lily had warmed up a little, babbling a little more._

_Oliver and Felicity were sitting next to each other, Lily sitting on Felicity's lap. He knew that everybody was watching their interactions carefully ever since he had picked up Lily from the sofa, holding her close to him. He couldn't blame them. The whole situation was as new to them as it was for him, although he was used to openly showing his love for the little girl, it was still something else when the people closest to him were watching him._

_They finished their dinner and Lily started to get fussy. She sat nicely through most of their meal, playing with her tiger. Oliver couldn't really blame her; while he enjoyed the conversation, he knew that the little girl was bored and probably tired._

_"Give her to me," he said to Felicity, extending his arms towards her. His girlfriend handed her over, a sigh of relief leaving her mouth._

_"Thank you, I think she gave me bruises with all the wiggling she did," she replied, leaning her head against his shoulder._

_"I will kiss them better later," he promised her, earning him a slap on the thigh from her._

_"Oliver! Don't embarrass me even more," she winced, a blush creeping across her cheeks. He ignored her plea, throwing his arm over her shoulder and pulling her closer._

_"Nobody is listening, Felicity. Relax." He pressed a kiss to her hair, before concentrating back on the conversation._

_Lily started crying right the moment their dessert arrived and Felicity tried to take her back, but he had hushed her, telling her to eat her dessert. He stood up from the table, moving over to the fireplace and gently bounced Lily who was lying in his arms now. The baby seemed to calm down, snuggling closer to him, stretching her hand up and placing it on his cheek._

_He smiled gently at her, knowing that it was her way of reassuring herself that he was still holding her. The first time she did it, he was surprised and it overwhelmed him to know that she trusted him this much. By now, he just loved it and sometimes he craved her soft touch during his long hours in the office._

_In a matter of a few minutes, Lily was drifting off to sleep, her pacifier falling out of her open mouth. Once he was sure, she was deep asleep; he went back to the table, sitting down with the sleeping baby in his arms._

_Felicity had gently stroked his arm, touching her lips to her daughter's forehead and then against his cheek._

_Once he was settled, the sleeping baby comfortably lying in his arms, he looked up. Tommy was smirking at him, shaking his head softly, mouthing something to Thea who had a gentle smile on her face, looking at him with soft eyes._

_His mother's lips were slightly parted and her eyes looked suspiciously teary and he was sure that she would never admit that to him. He focused his gaze on her, his lips tugging upwards into a soft smile, hoping that she could see how happy he was._

 

* * *

 

Texting Thea, assuring himself that Lily was ok; he knocked on Felicity's apartment door. After some seconds, the door opened, revealing a very stressed Felicity in a bathrobe.

"Oliver!" Her eyes widened and she grabbed the string of her bathrobe, clutching it in her hands. "Something tells me I'm incredibly late with getting ready. It just took me so long to say bye to Lily when Thea and John picked her up and then she didn't wanna go ..."

"It's alright, Felicity. Take your time, we're in no hurry," he interrupted her, stepping forward and silencing her with the soft touch of his lips against hers.

"Give me five minutes." She peeked him on the cheek, before turning around and darting back into her bedroom.

Oliver smiled, shaking his head and going into the living room. He sat on the sofa, waiting patiently for Felicity to get ready.

Exactly five minutes later, he heard the clack of Felicity's heels behind him. Standing up, he turned around. His eyes widened and couldn't get himself to move.

She looked breathtaking.

"Are you going to stand there all night?" Felicity asked slyly, smoothing down her form fitting red dress.

He shook his head once, focusing on her voice. "You look beautiful, Felicity." He walked closer to her, stopping in front of her and brushing a strand of curly hair behind her ear. "You're always beautiful."

"You're quite handsome yourself, Mr. Queen," she whispered, taking his hand in hers. "I think somebody promised me some dinner. Are you ready?"

"Yes, let's go!"

They walked downstairs and he opened the car door for his girlfriend. He actually drove himself, wanting to make Felicity feel extra confident in sending Lily to Thea with Diggle.

"Alright, before you get in the car, I'm going to put a blindfold on you." He stopped her, before she could get into the car. Taking a red satin scarf out of his pocket, he waved it in front of her face.

"Really Oliver? I can just close my eyes and promise not to peak?" Chewing on her lip, she gave him her most innocent smile, but Oliver shook his head.

"No, as much as I trust you, this is all part of the plan," he insisted, gently turning her around and fastening the blindfold over her eyes.

"Do you know that I don't like surprises that much?"

Oliver chuckled, helping her into the car, before getting in himself. "Well, trust me; you're going to like this one."

 

* * *

 

"Are we here? Can I please take this blindfold off? I feel like a child," Felicity pleaded with him and Oliver stepped behind her, releasing the knot from the satin scarf around his date's head, letting the scarf fall into his hands.

A gasp left Felicity's mouth as she opened her eyes and Oliver rested his hands on her shoulders. "Do you like it?"

"Are you crazy? It's beautiful." She placed her hand on his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

They were standing in Oliver's apartment, which was only lit by hundreds of tiny candles. In front of the window stood a small table, set up with two plates and another candle in the middle. A waiter was standing next to it, a bottle of champagne in his hands.

"I wanted to do something special and I didn't want anybody with prying eyes there, so I hope this is good enough," Oliver whispered into her ear. "Our server, Marc, will leave once our meal is served."

"It's perfect, Oliver," Felicity answered, turning around and gazing up to him.

The love and affection on her face was overwhelming and Oliver swallowed hard. Taking a deep breath, he planted a kiss on her forehead. "We should start eating, before I rethink my whole plan and take you straight to the bedroom."

Hearing his low voice, Felicity stilled before her lips turned upwards into a half smile.

They sat down and Marc served their food, making sure they were both satisfied, before excusing himself and leaving. While eating their meal, they had a light conversation and Oliver resisted the urge to touch her.

She looked so beautiful in the light of the candle. Her eyes were shining while she told him about Lily's newest adventures today. Every now and then, he would stare at her lips, remembering how it felt to kiss her.

The moment they finished their meal, Oliver stood up.

"Let me get the dessert," he excused himself, walking into the kitchen. Opening his fridge, he found the chocolate cake already sitting on a plate. Taking it out, he placed it on the counter, reaching for the drawer to get two spoons.

His hand stopped mid-air when he felt two arms wrap around his waist, a warm body pressing against his.

"Felicity," he groaned, unable to control his emotions anymore.

"Yes, Oliver," she paused, lifting her hands up to loosen his tie. "I believe your intentions of not taking me to a restaurant are going to play out in your favor now. We both know that neither of us really cares about this chocolate cake. Maybe we can have it later." She suggested, opening his suit jacket.

Another growl left Oliver's throat. Her small hands were driving him mad, opening a few buttons on his shirt and he restrained himself from turning around and just having his way with her right there. Instead, he grabbed her hand, placing it over his heart.

Feeling his fast heartbeat, she leaned her head in between his shoulders, pressing herself closer to him.

"Trust me, I have every intention of using this in my favor, but I don't think we'll have this chocolate cake tonight, because I don't plan on either of us leaving my bed once we're in it," he breathed, gently tugging her arms loose.

Felicity stepped back a little, giving him enough room to turn them around, so her back was pressed against the kitchen counter.

Without second thought, his mouth descended on hers, moving against hers in a bruising kiss. Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling herself flush against his chest. Her fingers scratched the nape of his neck, sending shivers through his body.

Feeling her tongue brushing against his lower lip, he opened his mouth for her. His hands stroked down her back, stilling at her bottom, squeezing it once before lifting her up onto the kitchen counter.

A tiny moan left her mouth and he detached his lips from hers, moving towards her neck. Carefully, he brushed her hair aside before connecting his lips to her throat, trailing kisses up to her ear and back. She squirmed, wrapping her legs around his waist, her heels falling to the ground.

Felicity ground her hips into his, moaning at his obvious arousal.

At this point, Oliver knew there was no going back. They were doing this and they were doing this now. He felt Felicity's hips rub upwards, a growl leaving his throat.

"If you don't stop, this is going to be over in two minutes," he warned, leaning his forehead against hers. "I suggest we take this someplace else."

Felicity nodded and he picked her up, carrying her to his bedroom where he gently placed her on his bed.

Her hair fanned out on his pillow and he lovingly gazed at her, taking off his suit jacket, before lowering himself next to her. Throwing his leg over her, he moved on top of her, hovering over her, careful to not crush her with his weight.

Felicity's hands framed his face, stopping him from connecting their lips together.

Worried that he did something wrong, he soothed a hand down her side. "What's wrong? Are we moving too fast?"

"No, of course not. I've wanted to do this for a long time," she paused, gently scratching his scruff. "It's just... Cooper was the only boyfriend I've had and we didn't really… do this a lot. I got pregnant and he broke up with me and after that there was nobody else." She was nervous now, fiddling with his shirt collar, twisting it in between her fingers.

Oliver stilled her hand, grabbing it and lifting it up to his mouth. He rolled off her, bringing her closer to his side.

"Did he hurt you?" God, he didn't even want to think about that. This Cooper person was definitely at the top of his most-hated list. How could he not love this amazing, strong woman?

"No, not more than I imagined it to, but we never got to the point where I could really enjoy it," she confessed, worrying her lips between her teeth.

He was silent for a moment, trying to process what she just told him.

"I still want to do this with you and I trust you, Oliver. I was just afraid that I would disappoint you." She closed her eyes, bringing their foreheads together. Her lips pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

Pulling her closer, he cupped her cheek, brushing a kiss on top of her nose. "You could never disappoint me, Felicity. Never, do you understand?" He waited until she met his gaze, before continuing, "I love you and nothing is going to change that."

She nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. "I love you too."

Their lips gently met, smoothing against each other softly, savoring the moment.

"I promise you, I won't hurt you, Felicity and if you want me to stop then say the word and I will, alright?" His voice was soft and low and he gently rolled on top of her again, letting his head sink into her neck, whispering into her ear, "Let me make love to you, sweetheart."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> I moved back to Germany and well, I'm getting used to everything again. I finally found time to update and I hope I will have more time now. We're moving on to the last part of the story, so buckle up! :)
> 
> I will also update my second story 'Nobody said it was easy'. Check it out!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. Hopefully once I'm settle again in Germany, I'll have time to do the picture sets, I'm sorry for the wait! The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**June 17th, 2015**

"Alright, let's move on to point five on our list," Mr. Miller continued, flipping the page of his handout.

Oliver let out a small puff of air. He knew that this investor was important for Queen Consolidated; it was actually the only reason Oliver had agreed to meet on the other side of town, but he just couldn't get himself interested in what the man was saying.

His mind was with Lily and Felicity, as always. Since their second date a few weeks back, Oliver had stayed over at Felicity's place more than he stayed at his own apartment. Yesterday was one of those days and it was incredibly hard to leave them in the morning.

Sometimes Felicity left with him and they both dropped Lily off at Mrs. Green's apartment, one level above Felicity's. The older woman watched Lily during the day while Felicity worked. Initially, she was wary about leaving her daughter with a virtual stranger for hours at a time, but thankfully Lily loved her. Even though it was sometimes hard to bring her over in the morning, it was just as hard to pick her up in the afternoon.

This morning they dropped her off together, giving her even more kisses than usual. Oliver had to literally drag Felicity away from the door, pretending to be the stronger more responsible one. In truth, it was just as hard for him to leave her as it was for Felicity. Seeing Lily cry choked him up.

Focusing back on the man in front of him, Oliver scribbled down some notes, seeing his phone blink up next to him. Felicity's face appeared. She was calling him.

Was something wrong? She knew that he was in an important meeting. They talked about it earlier in the car while Dig was driving them to work.

Usually she always texted him before she called but there weren't any new messages.

The call ended and he looked back up again, maybe she butt dialed him, but a second later, she called again.

Worried he picked up his phone. "I'm sorry gentleman, this is important, please excuse me." He stood up, walking out of the conference room without waiting for an answer from the other men attending the meeting.

He was barely out the door when he picked up his phone and brought it to his ear.

"Oliver, thank god!" He heard her sobbing. His vision started to blur and he moved towards the elevator, Diggle on his tail.

"Felicity, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" His pulse raced and fear flooded his body.

"It's Lily. She's in the hospital." He felt his heart stop and he held his breath. On the other end of the phone, he heard his girlfriend crying uncontrollably.

Diggle had already pressed the button for the lobby and the elevator started moving. He sucked in a deep breath. Lily was hurt. He had to get to her as fast as he could.

"Which hospital? Are you there?" He heard himself ask, pacing as much as the confined space of the elevator would let him. "I'm already in the elevator, tell me where she is."

Her cries got louder and he heard her breathing get harder. For a second he feared that she might have a panic attack, but after a few beats she answered. "She's at Starling General. Sara is already on her way here, but there is so much traffic." She whimpered. "I'm scared, Oliver."

"She is going to be ok. I'm on my way there now; I will be there in five minutes," Oliver promised her. The elevator doors opened and he darted out into the lobby. Felicity was silent on the other end and he could hear his heart thrashing in his ears. He needed to hear her voice to make sure that she was still there. "What happened?"

"I don't know, there was a fire at the apartment building; that was all they would tell me over the phone." She hiccupped, gasping for air. "Just please get there."

"I will, just take a deep breath, baby. Lily is going to be ok, alright sweetheart?" He whispered, taking a deep breath himself. He couldn't freak out now.

They had crossed the lobby and moved towards the parked car in one of the side streets. He heard his girlfriend take a deep breath, releasing it seconds later in a loud puff.

Jumping into the car, Diggle started the motor and they started moving before he was even able to put his seatbelt on.

"We're in the car now. Take another deep breath, baby. Everything is going to be alright, you have to be strong now." He was fighting his own tears, trying to stay strong for his girlfriend even though he was just as scared as she was. It wouldn't help either of them if he freaked out now. He needed to stay focused.

The reasonable side of his brain kicked in again. "Felicity, they aren't going to let me in. You have to help me out here. We'll be there in four minutes tops."

He heard Felicity take a few deep breaths, obviously trying to calm herself down and he was glad that he didn't had to worry about her collapsing too.

"I can hack her records, hold on. Just don't hang up please," she begged, her voice quiet.

"I'm right here; just do what you need to." He knew exactly what she was going to do and he swallowed the lump in his throat, willing the consequences of her actions away.

Silence filled the car and he started tapping his foot nervously on the floor, looking out of the front window of the car. The hospital came into sight.

"Felicity, we're here, are you done?" The muscles in his legs tightened, ready to jump out of the car once Diggle would stop.

"Yes," she whispered. Her breathing was still faster than usual, but she had stopped crying.

"I'm going to hang up now. Dig will call you when he parks the car." The car stopped and he opened the door, getting out. "She's going to be ok, Felicity. I'm here now. I won't let anything happen to her, I promise." He told her, entering through the glass doors into the hospital.

"Ok, just go to her. I'll be there as soon as I can." Her voice was thick from the crying and he wished she were here with him now.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Hanging up, he stuffed his phone into his pocket before rushing over to the front desk.

"I'm here for Liliana Smoak. She was brought in a while ago," Oliver addressed the receptionist who raised an eyebrow at him, typing something into her computer.

"She's in the emergency ward, but only family is allowed," the young woman replied. "You'll have to wait in the waiting area." She pointed to the chairs standing in a corner.

"I'm her father," Oliver breathed out, his jaw clenching. "And I'd like to see her now."

A frown appeared on the woman's forehead. She obviously recognized him.

"If you don't believe me, then check your records, but do it quick," Oliver growled angrily. "My daughter is somewhere in this hospital, hopefully not badly hurt, but she's probably scared out of her mind. So, I will ask you again, where is she?"

He was really close to losing his control right now; he just wanted to see Lily.

The woman typed something into her computer, pausing for a second, before calling one of the nurses.

"Could you please accompany Mr. Queen to his daughter, Liliana Smoak? She's in room 115," the receptionist asked the nurse, pointing to Oliver.

The nurse nodded, glancing at him, before making her way further into the hospital. The emergency ward was packed with various people lying on beds and Oliver got more scared with each step he took. Pictures of an unconscious Lily filled his mind and his vision blurred once again.

They rounded a corner and Oliver heard Lily's screams. He picked up his pace, wanting to get to her as soon as possible. Texting Diggle the room number, he followed the nurse through a door, finally seeing Lily sitting on a nurse's lap. Her face was red from the crying and she had a small band-aid on her forehead.

"Lily!" He whispered, moving closer to her. He released a breath. She seemed ok.

He didn't even register the two nurses talking to each other, all his focus being on Lily.

Spotting him, Lily's screams quieted down and she stretched a hand towards him. Stopping in front of her, he looked at the nurse holding her. "Can I please hold her?"

"Yes, I'm Nurse Judy," the older woman answered. "Alright, Liliana, daddy's going to hold you now."

Oliver's heart clenched at hearing her calling him 'daddy' and he carefully picked her up. The baby immediately snuggled up against him, burying her face in his shoulder. Her little body was shaking from all her crying, tiny sobs leaving her mouth every now and then. A silent tear rolled down his cheek and pressed his face against the baby's head.

"Is she okay?" Oliver asked the nurse, after a while, gently bouncing Lily while stroking his hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her.

"She seems to be fine. She has a little cut on her forehead, which should heal on its own, but we would like to take some blood to make sure she doesn't have any fume poisoning. Her doctor will be here in a little while; she will be able to tell you more," Judy answered, scribbling down some notes onto a chart. "It's important that she doesn't sleep just yet. I will take her blood now."

Oliver sat down on the bed, placing Lily in his lap. She started to cry once again and he smoothed a hand over her head. "It's alright, baby girl. I'm here now. I won't leave you." He promised her, pressing a kiss to her head.

The nurse took Lily's hand, pricking her thumb with a little needle, before massaging it gently, collecting the drops of blood in a syringe.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm his beating heart. Lily was fine, she wasn't hurt and everything was going to be ok. Opening his eyes, he saw Diggle in the doorway, holding a phone to his ear.

"She's alright, Felicity. Oliver is holding her," he heard Diggle assure his girlfriend. "She's crying a little, but she doesn't seem hurt too bad."

Oliver looked over at Diggle, nodding his head, telling him that she was fine.

"We're in room 115; I'll wait for you at the entrance. See you soon," Diggle said, ending the call. "She'll be here in 5 minutes."

"Is she alright?"

"She's scared, but she calmed down since she heard that Lily is fine and with you," his bodyguard answered.

He nodded, concentrating on Lily again. She stopped crying and was clutching his shirt now.

"Alright, all done. I'll bring this into the lab and I'll be back with the doctor soon," Nurse Judy told him. "If anything unusual happens or if she starts coughing, press the nurse button, right here." She showed him the little remote and Oliver nodded.

The nurse left, leaving Oliver and Lily alone. Diggle had gone to wait for Felicity, who was supposed to arrive any minute now.

"Oh, Lily. You gave me a heart attack there, little one," he whispered, pressing more kisses onto her head. "Never do that again, sweetheart."

Lily looked up to him, putting her hand on his cheek. "I know you're tired sweetheart, but we can't sleep just yet. Mommy is going to be here soon, too."

He leaned his head against hers, pressing her closer to him.

"Oliver! Lily!" He heard Felicity yell. She appeared in the doorway, her eyes red and puffy from crying, her mascara smeared everywhere.

Oliver stood up, moving closer to her. Felicity sobbed once more, moving towards them. He gently transferred Lily into her waiting arms before pulling both of them against his chest.

"I was so scared. I thought I lost her."

Oliver ran his hands up and down her back, laying his head onto hers. "She's alright. Everything's going to be ok. I promise."

They stood there for a while, embracing each other, thankful that everything turned out in their favor.

Once Oliver felt like Felicity had calmed down enough, he gently pulled them to sit on the bed. Lily was half-asleep in her mother's lap and Oliver softly tickled her side.

"The nurse said that she can't sleep just yet. They took some blood and the doctor should be back soon," Oliver explained, touching his lips against Felicity's temple, before softly brushing some of her tears away.

She nodded, holding Lily up in front of her, her eyes roaming over her, making sure that nobody missed anything.

"I see Liliana is feeling much better now," a new voice sounded up and a middle-aged, dark-haired woman entered the room. "I'm Dr. Sullivan, Liliana's doctor. You must be her parents, Ms. Smoak and Mr. Queen, right?

Felicity tensed next to him. Oliver put his hand on the small of her back, moving his thumb from side to side. She was just now realizing what she'd done in her panicked haze earlier. She'd declared him to be Lily's father.

"Yes, we are," he answered for her, giving her a second longer to recover. "Is she alright?"

"She seems to be doing just fine," Dr. Sullivan replied, picking up her chart. "When she first came here, she coughed a little which is why we took some of her blood to rule out any fume poisoning. The results should be here in about an hour, maybe two. As you can see, her coughing has stopped, but just to be sure, I would like to give her some more fluids. The laceration on her forehead isn't too deep and it will heal on its own, no stitches required. We would like to keep her overnight to monitor her, even though I don't expect there to be any problems."

A sigh of relief left Felicity's mouth and her head fell against Oliver's shoulder.

"Thank you, Dr. Sullivan," Oliver said, placing his hand on Lily's back. "Is it possible to get a private room?"

"Once we put the IV in, Liliana will be transferred to the pediatrics. I'll call ahead to make sure there is a room set up."

"Thank you."

The doctor stepped outside, talking to one of the nurses and Oliver pulled Felicity closer to him.

"Everything is going to be alright now, she is ok." He pressed a kiss to her temple as he felt his girlfriend slump into his side, drained and tired.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> Here I thought I would have more time to update and finish this story, but life got in the way. I'm sure everything is going to calm down in the next week, so I'll have more time to write my stories. As for Unconditionally, we're almost done. It's only two more chapters after this and I'll post them within the next week or so, I promise.
> 
> I'm working on 'Nobody said it was easy' and I will hopefully update by this weekend too! :)
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. Hopefully once I'm settle again in Germany, I'll have time to do the picture sets, I'm sorry for the wait! The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**June 17th, 2015**

The next hour passed in a flurry.

Lily got her IV with lots of crying and screaming and Oliver ended up holding both Lily and a crying Felicity. He was somehow able to keep his tears at bay, wanting to be strong for them.

They headed up to the pediatric ward where some of the nurses directed them to their private room, Diggle and Sara already waiting.

"Felicity! Is Lily ok?" Sara asked, rushing over to her and putting a hand on the baby's back.

Lily was already half asleep, tired from all the crying, but she still looked over at Sara with half-closed lids.

"She's going to be ok." Felicity's lips tugged upwards by just an inch and Oliver squeezed her shoulder gently. "Thank you for coming so fast earlier. I knew you were having lunch with your Dad close by so I just called you. I'm sorry I made you cut it short."

"Don't sweat it. You know I would do everything for you and Lily; you're family." Sara rubbed Lily's back gently, a soft smile on her face.

"Do you know what happened? They just said there was a fire," he spoke up, directing Felicity and Lily towards the bed.

Without much restraint, Felicity sat down on the bed, adjusting Lily in her arms.

"They still don't know what caused the fire, but it started on the first level, right under my apartment," Sara explained, walking over to the bed as well and sitting down in one of the chairs. She lowered her gaze, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

Oliver moved closer to Felicity, standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders.

"Why do I think there is more to the story?" His girlfriend sounded up. "Just tell me, Sara. It can't be much worse."

Sara bent her neck, her shoulders curling in and her chest caving in.

"Because the fire started on the lower level, it destroyed some of the main structure of the building. They condemned it, Felicity. It's uninhabitable," Sara told her in a quiet voice, avoiding her gaze.

His hold on her shoulder tightened as he felt her start to tremble. Wrapping his arm around her head, he pulled her against his chest, pressing her close to him.

"Shh, don't cry," Oliver hushed her softly, his thumb stroking over her cheek. "We're going to figure this out. I'll take care of everything."

Silent tears were running down her face, her free hand clutching his arm as if her life depended on it.

He knew that he couldn't say anything that would remotely help her right now. Today was probably the worst day of her life so far and all he could do was be with her and assure her that everything was going to be alright.

"Nobody was hurt badly. I was able to grab some things from my apartment, but since the fire started right under it, I won't be able to get anything else out. Your apartment wasn't too damaged and I got a bag for you guys until you can get back in for more." She stopped, looking over to her friend. "The fire department is still there supervising the building, giving everybody a chance to pack their stuff."

Felicity didn't react to her words and Sara looked up to him, her eyes filled with worry.

"I'll take care of everything. I'll call Thea and she'll help organize everything. Do you have a place to stay, Sara?" His voice was strong, leaving no doubt behind.

"Yes. I'll stay with my father until I find a new apartment."

Oliver nodded, looking over to Diggle. "I'll stay here with Felicity and Lily tonight. You can go home to your family; I'll call you tomorrow morning." He turned to Sara again. "Do you need a ride home? Diggle can drop you off."

"No, I have my car here, but I'll be on my way now, too." She walked over to them, putting a hand on Felicity's arm. "Everything is going to be fine. You're not alone anymore."

Felicity, who had stopped crying, looked up to her briefly, before sinking back into Oliver's arms.

"Take care of her," Sara whispered, before following Diggle outside, leaving them alone.

Silence filled the room and for a moment; he thought that she might have drifted off to sleep as well. Looking down, he saw her staring at the gray wall instead.

"Why don't you lay down with Lily while I call Thea?" He suggested quietly, rubbing her back. Her grip on his arm tightened and he leaned his head against hers. "I won't leave you; I'll just move over to the window so I don't wake Lily up, alright?"

He felt the barest of a nod against his chest and he loosened his hold on her, helping her to lie down with Lily on her chest. She seemed so small and fragile; it took all his willpower to not pick her up again right this second. Instead, he leaned down, brushing some of her hair out of her face, kissing her lightly on the forehead.

"I love you."

He pulled the covers over Lily and her, waiting for her to get settled before fishing the phone out of his pocket and moving over to the window. Dialing Thea's number, he lifted the phone to his ear, puffing out some air.

After a few rings, Thea picked up. "Ollie? Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine. It's Lily and Felicity." Turning to look at the two of them, he explained the situation to Thea.

"I'm so sorry, Ollie. Should I come to the hospital?" His sister's voice was filled with genuine concern and he watched as his girlfriend gently stroked her daughter's back.

"No, we're good. I need you to take some of the staff and go pack up Felicity's apartment, though, if you can," he told her, hoping that she would do it. "Bring Lily's stuff and everything Felicity could possibly need in the next few days to my apartment and put the rest in storage. I would help you myself, but Felicity needs me right now."

"Of course, Ollie. Stay with them; I'll organize everything. I'll call you when I'm done," she promised.

"Thank you, Speedy. I owe you," he ended the call, putting his phone back into his pocket.

He made his way over to the bed, where Lily was still sleeping soundly. Felicity was holding her close, her hand now stroking her daughter's head. Oliver sat down on the chair next to the bed, meeting Felicity's tired eyes. She seemed to have calmed down.

"You don't have to worry about anything. I called Thea and she's going to take care of your apartment," Oliver told her, gently smoothing away the frown on her forehead with his fingers. "I was scared too, you know. When I saw your call, I knew something was wrong. Hearing you say my name like that… I was already in the elevator.

"Never in my life was I so scared for someone. The thought of losing Lily or you... It's unbearable." He paused, interlacing their fingers together, laying them on Lily's sleeping form. "The worst scenarios ran through my head and when I was finally able to hold her, I wanted to thank every single god on earth that nothing worse happened."

"We have to talk about what I did," Felicity whispered, averting her eyes to Lily.

"I know, but it can wait until later," he assured her. "You're tired; you should sleep some, too. I'll go and check on Mrs. Green."

"Stay until I fall asleep?" Felicity whispered, her eyes darting to his.

"Of course."

Felicity relaxed and he leaned over, brushing his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and Oliver leaned his head against the bed.

 

* * *

 

Softly knocking on the door, Oliver entered the hospital room. Two beds were standing against the wall and he spotted Mrs. Green in the bed by the window. Slowly walking over, he noticed the oxygen tube that was wrapped around her ears, going into her nose.

"Oliver!" She said as she turned her head in his direction. "How is Lily? Is she all right? I was so worried."

Stopping next to her bed, Oliver sat down, taking her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Lily is fine. They took some blood, but she seems ok," Oliver assured her, letting go of her hand. "How are you, Mrs. Green?"

"I'll be fine," she paused, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I'm sorry this happened."

A frown appeared on his face. "There is nothing to be sorry for, Mrs. Green. I'm sure you tried your best to protect Lily and Felicity and I will be forever thankful for that."

Silence filled the room, before Mrs. Green took a deep breath. "I was sitting in the kitchen; Liliana was napping in the bedroom. At first, I didn't see the smoke outside the window, because I was reading the newspaper, but as soon as I realized, I ran to get Lily, covering her face with a wet cloth and then we made our way outside. The staircase was filled with smoke and it took us a while to get downstairs, because I couldn't see." She paused, looking out of the window. "She was crying so much and when we were outside the fire department and ambulance already arrived. They took Lily, because I was coughing so much. She screamed so loud and I told them to call Felicity."

"Mrs. Green," Oliver stopped her, taking her hand in his again. "You did everything right. Lily is all right. They want to monitor her overnight, but I think she is just extremely tired. Felicity is with her. I can't thank you enough for taking such great care of her."

The older woman nodded, her lips pressed together. "I'm glad they have you. I can see how much you love them."

"I would do anything for them." He knew that he didn't have to defend himself in front of her, but he still felt like he needed to give her some reassurance. She loved Lily as much as he did and she only wanted what was best for her.

A soft smile formed on her face and she rested her head against the pillow behind her neck.

"Can I call somebody for you?"

"No, it's alright. My daughter is already on her way here and I'll stay with her for the meantime. Don't worry about me." She gave his hand a squeeze. "You should go back to them. They need you right now."

Oliver nodded, standing up. "Thank you again, Mrs. Green. I'm sure Felicity will call you in the next days."

"Take care of them, Oliver."

"I will."

 

* * *

 

Sitting on the hard hospital chair, Oliver leaned forward, bracing on the bed with his forearms while his fingers brushed through Lily's hair. Her short locks were sticking in every possible direction, creating a halo around her head. She was still the most beautiful girl he had seen in his life, right next to her mother.

Felicity was still sleeping, too, curled up on her side, her hand laying on Lily's back. His hand moved over to her, the back of his fingers grazing her warm, rosy cheek. The tension had finally eased out of her body, leaving her relaxed.

Seeing her so hurt and sad earlier broke his heart, and he wished he could turn the time back, erasing the last hours of the day from her memory. Preferably his, too.

When he entered the hospital, Felicity's distress still echoing in his head, he had flashed back to the day his father died. All of the sudden, he was reminded of his sister's desperate cries and his mother's blank stare upon arriving in the hospital that day. He had felt nauseous as he tried to fill his lungs with air, smelling the same sterile hospital smell again. Nothing good happened in hospitals and he had banned the thoughts of his father out of his head. Just the thought of losing anyone else in his life, especially Felicity or Lily, was unthinkable. Felicity and Lily were not going to leave his sight for the next few days, no matter what happened.

A soft knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts and he sat up just in time to see Dr. Sullivan and another nurse entering.

"Mr. Queen, we have the results for Liliana's blood test," she said, walking over to the bed where Felicity and Lily were sleeping.

He nodded, gently shaking Felicity's shoulder, before smoothing his hand down her arm. "Felicity, Dr. Sullivan is here."

She opened her eyes, blinking a few times, careful not to disturb Lily. Oliver reached for her glasses, handing them to her and she gave him a thankful smile, before putting them on and lying Lily down on the bed.

"Excuse me," she apologized. Once she was sure that Lily was still deep asleep, she cautiously scooted to the side of the bed, getting out and walking over to him.

"That's alright. It was an eventful day for everyone." The doctor smiled, picking up Lily's chart. "I'm happy to let you know that your daughter's blood test came back negative and she should be back to her usual self after a good night's sleep."

A sigh of relief left his mouth and he felt Felicity sink into his side. He wrapped his arm around her, holding her against him.

"Thank you, Dr. Sullivan," Felicity managed, her voice soft.

"No worries, somebody is going to bring some dinner in a little while and I will be back in the morning."

With one last smile, she turned around, the nurse following her out. Oliver turned his attention back to the woman in his arms.

"How are you feeling?"

She moved closer, pressing her head against his chest, her arms snaking around his middle. "Better. Thank you for being here."

He accepted her embrace, his arms bracketing her against his chest. Resting his head against hers, he closed his eyes, breathing in her sweet scent. "There is nowhere I'd rather be."


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I wanna thank everybody for reviewing, leaving kudos and adding the story to your bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I love hearing what you think and I will answer!
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> And here we go, the chapter you've all been waiting for. I came home earlier from work than expected so I decided to just post it! I hope you like it! There will be an epilogue up on Monday, so be on the lookout! :)
> 
> I will also post a new chapter of 'Nobody said it was easy', so look out for that too!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. Hopefully once I'm settle again in Germany, I'll have time to do the picture sets, I'm sorry for the wait! The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**June 18th, 2015**

"Alright, do you have everything?" Oliver asked Felicity as she stuffed some remaining toys into her bag. "Diggle is gonna be here any second now."

"Yes, can you please grab Lily's release papers? They're laying on the table," Felicity asked Oliver.

Oliver nodded, walking over to the table with Lily on his arm.

The little girl was doing much better. After she had some milk and dinner last night, she pretty much slept through the whole night, waking up once.

This morning she woke up babbling, wiggling out of Felicity's arms and onto the floor. Oliver had walked around with her for a while until Sara came with some breakfast.

Now that everybody had eaten and the doctor came to check on Lily once again, they were on their way out.

Handing the papers to Felicity, she stuffed them into her bag. "Alright, all done."

He smiled at her, resting his free hand on her waist, pulling her closer to him. He gently brushed his lips against hers, savoring their moment together.

Today wasn't going to be their happiest day, either. There was a lot of stuff to talk about, mainly the fact that Felicity had hacked Lily's records and put his name in the empty space of the father. Secondly, Felicity no longer had an apartment to live in.

Felicity was silent, leaning her head against his chest. Lily giggled, reaching out to her mother's face, poking her nose. Felicity grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss onto it.

"I will never be able to thank Mrs. Green enough for protecting Lily," she mused, wrapping her arm around his waist. "I was so scared when I got the call. It felt like I couldn't breathe, like I was drowning." She paused. "Then I called you and just hearing your voice made everything a little bit easier. Once Diggle called, telling me that you were with her, I felt like I could breathe again. I knew that she was safe with you and that you would do anything for her."

"You're right, I would do anything for her," he affirmed, giving her a small squeeze. "How about we go home now?"

Felicity tensed and he regretted his words.

"Don't worry, we're going to figure everything out. Let's just leave for now."

Right that moment, Diggle entered, stopping at the door. "There is a problem."

Felicity and Oliver pulled apart.

"What's wrong, Dig?" Oliver asked confused, protectively holding Lily tighter to him.

"Turn the TV on."

His girlfriend grabbed the remote control, switching on the TV. The news was on and a picture of Oliver running into the hospital appeared on the screen.

 

_"Former playboy, Oliver Queen, was spotted running into a hospital yesterday afternoon. Inside sources confirmed that he was rushing to his 11-month-old daughter, after a fire in an apartment building. He spent the night with his daughter and possibly new girlfriend in the hospital."_

 

The breaking news blared and another picture of Oliver appeared on screen. He was holding Lily, who thankfully had her face hidden in his neck, and he was facing away from the camera. They were still in the emergency room, so somebody must have taken it before Diggle and Felicity came.

Oliver handed Lily to Felicity, making sure that she was safe in her mother's arms, before he balled his hands to fists, turning away from them, pacing through the room.

 

_"Inside sources said, 'He was very sweet with her. She didn't seem to be hurt, but you could see that he was genuinely worried about her'. The mother's identity is not yet known."_

 

His nostrils flared and he pressed his lips into a flat line, releasing a harsh breath. "How could this happen? Doesn't anybody care about privacy anymore?"

"Oliver!" Felicity warned him, pressing Lily closer to her, who whimpered slightly upon hearing his loud voice. "You have to calm down. You're scaring Lily."

Taking a deep breath, trying to calm his anger, he turned around, walking over to them, wrapping his arms around Felicity and brushing a kiss against Lily's head. His voice turned soft again, the tension leaving his body. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you, sweetheart."

Feeling both of them close anchored him. His anger ebbed, replaced with annoyance and disappointment at the person who took the picture in the first place.

"Let's just go to your apartment and we can deal with the rest later," Felicity said, clutching the back of his shirt. "I don't want to stay here any longer."

He nodded, taking another calming breath and pressing a kiss to her head before letting go of her and moving over to Diggle.

They quickly came up with a plan to leave the hospital. Diggle had already brought extra security, seeing the news before leaving. The hospital didn't have a parking garage, leaving them with no option but to leave through the front, right through the paparazzi.

Oliver hated it. His life had been so calm over the last few months that he stopped worrying about people following him around. Now, everything was going to start again, putting Felicity and especially Lily in the spotlight. Something he wished would have never happened.

This just added to all the drama of yesterday, making it even more complicated than it already was. His little bubble had burst; the real world was catching up with him, and he didn't like it for one second.

When they finally left the hospital, it was exactly as Oliver had predicted.

Felicity had pressed Lily into her side, covering her face with a light blanket. To say that the baby wasn't happy was a total understatement. She screamed into Felicity's shoulder, and Oliver pressed both of them closer into his side, trying to shield them from the flashing lights around them.

People screamed questions at him, asking him for statements, but Oliver didn't stop walking. He focused solely on getting Felicity and Lily into the car, ending this ridiculous drama.

Diggle opened the door and Oliver ushered the two of them inside, following quickly. The bodyguard shut the door and he let out a deep breath. Uncovering Lily, he ran his hand through her unruly hair.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I didn't mean for any of that to happen," he apologized and Lily's sobs quieted down. "Are you ok, Felicity?"

The blonde woman nodded, placing Lily into her car seat.

The car started moving away from the hospital and all the screaming people. Felicity slumped into him, the events from the last 24 hours draining her energy. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.

 

* * *

 

Entering his apartment, he saw his mother and sister standing in the living room.

"Felicity! Ollie! Are you guys ok?" Thea asked, running towards them. "I can't believe someone would say something like that!"

Oliver hugged her, getting ready for the brutal conversation they were going to have. "We are fine."

Felicity stayed quiet, putting her purse onto the floor. Lily squealed, excited once she saw Thea and Moira.

"I'm glad that Lily seems to be doing well," Moira sounded up, walking over to the others.

"She's doing much better than yesterday, thank you Mom," he addressed her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "And thank you Thea for helping with Felicity's apartment."

His girlfriend tensed up next to him, swallowing hard. Excusing herself, she walked into the kitchen, to get a glass of water.

"Is she ok?" Thea asked worried, nodding to Felicity and Lily.

"I don't know," Oliver replied, gazing to the blonde woman in the kitchen. "Do you mind watching Lily for a while? There're some toys in Felicity's bag and you can play with her on the carpet in front of the fireplace."

Thea nodded, walking to collect the toys as he headed to the kitchen with his mom.

"Let me take her for a while, Felicity," Moira said, stretching her arms out. Felicity hesitated. "It's alright, dear. Let Oliver take care of you. Lily is safe with Thea and me."

Nodding absently, Felicity handed her daughter to the older woman who walked away with her.

"Let's go to my bedroom," Oliver suggested, placing his hands on her shoulders, gently guiding her into his room. It worried him that she didn't put up much resistance, and once she was sitting on the couch by the windows, he sat down next to her, taking her hand. They were silent, neither knowing where to start.

"I remember the exact day you first walked into the coffee shop," Felicity started, a sad smile covering her face. "You tried so hard to get my attention and I couldn't understand it. You were this handsome billionaire everybody knew and loved. My colleagues flipped out when you walked in and they couldn't stop talking about you for the rest of the day.

"And then you came every single day for a week, each day with a new compliment. My coworkers thought I was stupid for rejecting you, but I kept ignoring you." She paused, shrugging her shoulders. "You were so persistent and I started to like you more than I should have. There was just something about you that made everything seem so easy.

"I was heartbroken after our date, because I fell for you." Tears started to gather in her eyes. "But there you were again. Being the stubborn man you are. You charmed yourself right back into my arms, being this incredible, selfless person, loving Lily and me unconditionally." A single tear ran down her cheek. "Everything was so perfect in the last few months and I feel like all of this shatter in just one day." She let her tears run freely now, sobs shaking through her body. "I don't even have a home anymore."

She buried her face in her hands, shielding her face from his view.

"Oh Felicity," he whispered heartbroken. "You will always have a home with me."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap, her head settled against his chest. His hand cradled her face, pressing it close to his heart, hoping to console her with the rhythmic beating, giving her something to focus on.

Whispering words of comfort in her ear, he let her cry until her tears stopped running and her breathing returned to normal. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he gently framed her face, wiping away the remaining tears with his thumbs.

"Listen to me, Felicity," he started again, fiercely looking into her eyes. "As long as you're with me, you will always have a home. My apartment is your apartment for as long as you want. Even if you don't feel like we're ready for this, I'll help you look for a new place." He paused, his eyes turning soft. "I would very much like it, if you and Lily move in here with me, but this isn't about what I want, alright?"

"I don't know what to do," Felicity confessed quietly, nestling her cheek against his palm. "I just feel so… lost. I don't know what to do."

"Then let me help you," he pleaded, pressing his lips against her forehead again. "Let me show you something."

He pulled her up, walking them out of his room, through the hallway into the next room. Opening the door, he pushed Felicity inside, following her and closing the door behind him.

He heard her gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oliver."

He walked up to her, placing his hands on her waist, pulling her back into him. "It's not finished yet. It isn't decorated that much, but I thought I had some more time."

What used to be a guest bedroom was now painted a soft pink, with a big, striped carpet lying in front of a white crib. In the corner stood a small rocking chair, next to it an empty shelf that just waited to be filled with books and toys. Next to the door stood a changing table, a stuffed bear sitting on the side.

"I wanted to be prepared in case we decided to stay at my place one night," Oliver admitted, turning her in his arms. He had worked hard on this room. After their last date, he started clearing it out, repainting it in the small amount of time he wasn't working or spending time with Felicity and Lily. He had ordered the furniture and this week he wanted to go back to the toy store he went to a while ago, to find some things that would make the room look less empty.

He looked at his girlfriend, fresh tears were running down her cheeks and once again, he caught them with his thumb.

"I don't know what to say," Felicity breathed, her hands smoothing over his chest in an unsettled matter.

"Thank you would be enough, you know," he joked, and her lips turned upwards. "There it is. And I thought I couldn't make you smile today."

"You always manage to do that," she mused, putting her hands on his arms, turning serious. "Thank you, Oliver. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"You would have come up with a plan. You're stronger than you know." He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, his eyes focusing on her.

"There is one more thing we need to talk about." She shifted around, averting her eyes. "I hacked Lily's records and made you her father." She gulped. "And for some twisted reason, the press found out and it's all over the news now. This isn't really how I imagined this going."

He pulled her against his chest, not sure if he was able to look her in the eyes. "Me neither."

They were silent for some time, neither of them finding the courage to voice their opinion.

"I can't undo it now that the press knows about it. It would be too suspicions with my background," Felicity broke the silence, leaning back and playing with the buttons on his shirt. "I wish I could give you a choice in this. I'm sorry I took this away from you. I never imagined it happening like that."

Oliver let out a shackled breath, running his hands up and down her back. "I don't regret it, Felicity. Lily is such a lovable, little girl and I would be honored to be her father." He stopped, cupping her check. "I love her more than I ever imagined loving a person. I know this isn't how this usually works and we have to come up with a story that is both convincing and as close to the truth as we can make it, but I will never regret it, Felicity. I promise you."

For the millionth time in the last two days, tears pooled in her eyes and he vowed to himself to not let her cry again anytime soon.

"I would like that," she whispered, her hands moved from his chest up to his throat, interlacing behind his neck.

He released an unsteady breath, connecting their foreheads and closing his eyes. This was more than he had ever wished for and all of the sudden the day didn't seem too bad anymore.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna thank everybody who read this story and/or reviewed it, left kudos and bookmarks. It means a lot to me! I had fun writing it and I will finish my other story 'Nobody said it was easy', hopefully in the next few weeks, before taking a small break and coming up with something else.
> 
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!
> 
> Find me on tumblr (katie-049) for picture sets of each chapter. Hopefully once I'm settle again in Germany, I'll have time to do the picture sets, I'm sorry for the wait! The black and white ones are for the flashbacks.

**July 11th, 2015**

A soft cry sounded through the baby monitor on his nightstand. Oliver blinked tiredly, looking at his alarm clock. It was half past five, earlier than she usually woke up. Looking at Felicity next to him, he saw that she was still asleep, her head resting on his arm.

Gently, hoping not to wake her up, he tugged his arm out from under her, pressing a tender kiss to her bare shoulder. He pulled the covers back over her before heading to switch the baby monitor off and fish a pair of boxers and a t-shirt from the floor. He pulled them on as he started down the hall to the nursery.

The room was still dark, the thick curtains shielding the morning sun from the room. Lily was sitting in her crib, whining softly and Oliver made his way over to her.

"Good morning, birthday girl. You couldn't wait to start your day, huh?" Oliver asked her, picking her up and pressing a kiss to her head.

Lily cuddled up to him, her head leaning against his shoulder, her tiny hand fisting his shirt.

"Well, looks like you're still tired, baby girl," Oliver smiled, walking over to the rocking chair by the window.

Sitting down, he adjusted his hold on Lily, cradling her against his chest so that she was able to look up to him. Once he was comfortable, he let her grab his fingers. She gazed up to him with tired eyes, and he sighed happily.

"Happy birthday, Lily bear," he whispered, stroking her blonde hair. "You're such a big girl now, running around and keeping mommy and daddy on their toes all the time."

"Mama?" Lily asked, looking expectantly up to him.

"Mommy is still sleeping, baby girl. You woke up really early today, earlier than daddy," Oliver told her.

Lily settled down again, snuggling closer to his chest and closing her eyes.

Oliver loved his mornings now. Going for a run at 5:30, he usually made it back in time for Lily to wake up, taking her to the bathroom with him, showering and getting ready.

Felicity wasn't a morning person like him and he always tried to give her some extra time to sleep. When they made it to the kitchen, she usually joined them and he always had her coffee ready.

Lily was much like her mother in that respect. She wasn't a morning person either, but he was never able to put her back into her crib after she fell asleep again. He enjoyed holding her, feeling her even breath against his neck, watching her little chest rise and fall.

After the fire, everything had changed.

The press found out and on the same day, Oliver and Felicity had come up with a convincing story to cover the fact that Oliver wasn't Lily's real father.

With the help of his mother and sister, they decided to release a press statement, explaining the situation and asking for privacy. The PR team from Queen Consolidated acted fast and professionally, avoiding unnecessary rumors.

Oliver and Felicity had met briefly at a party right before he dropped out of Harvard. Felicity found out that she was pregnant after he left, not knowing who he was and moved to Starling City because of a job offer once she dropped out of MIT. Liliana Smoak was born in July and Felicity lived a low profile life, until they met again in the coffee shop. They started dating and Felicity introduced him to his daughter.

Everybody seemed to buy their story this far and he knew that this was the most important part, but silently he hated it. It made Felicity look naive, which she clearly wasn't. Felicity, however, hated it more. She still blamed herself for the mess she created that day, even though Oliver assured her that he didn't blame her for one second.

In a perfect world, they would have made this decision together, talking about the consequences and changes coming with their choice. They also would have had more time to adjust to their new situation, but of course they didn't live in a perfect world.

Everything changed in one day, except for Lily. It actually didn't make that big of a difference. For her, Oliver was still the only man in her life. Someone who loved her and cherished her for the incredible, amazing human being she was. Daddy was just a word for her, but it had taken some time for Oliver and Felicity to get used to it.

Oliver started referring to himself as daddy and at first, it had sounded strange on his tongue, but it changed quickly. He got familiar with his new title, openly calling himself her father in front of his family and friends. Yesterday he had even called Lily his daughter in front of a room full of business associates, telling them that he had to leave to pick up his daughter's birthday cake. He got some strange looks and raised eyebrows, but Martha had smiled knowingly at him, standing up and shutting off the presentation. He felt proud calling her his daughter.

The first time he heard Felicity call him daddy, his heart clenched with love. It was a week after the fire and he had literally just opened the door to see Lily and Felicity walking towards him. Felicity was holding one of Lily's hands, the only support the little whirlwind needed to walk around at that time, and they came closer to him. Lily squealed excited once she saw him and Felicity chuckled calling her daddy's little girl. Tears had sprung to his eyes and in a matter of seconds, he had them both enveloped in a bone crushing hug. Lily wasn't as happy as he was and Oliver had put her to the ground, pulling her mother into an earth-shattering kiss.

Even that, however, was nothing compared to Lily saying 'dada' for the first time, actually meaning him. It was a few days ago, Felicity was fixing a client's computer and Oliver and Lily were playing on the floor in the living room. They were throwing a ball around, when Oliver's phone had started to ring. Seeing that it was his sister, he answered it. She had some info about the club and wanted to hear his opinion about a choice of cocktails. He stopped throwing the ball back at Lily and she got incredibly angry with him. She started whining loudly until she had enough, slamming her little hands on her legs, yelling 'dada'. Oliver stopped talking, looking at his daughter in disbelief and surprise. He had hung up on Thea without another word, tossing his phone onto the couch and gathering the baby into his arms, covering her in kisses and telling her he loved her. Since then dada has been her new favorite word.

His thoughts drifted back to the sleeping baby in his arms. Standing up, he walked back into the bedroom, lying down next to Felicity, Lily resting on his chest.

A deep sigh left Felicity's mouth and she rolled closer to him, putting her head onto his pillow, leaning her head against the side of his head.

"Morning," she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep. "Thank you for getting her, I guess she couldn't wait to start her special day."

He pressed a kiss onto her head, looping his arm around her back, welcoming her into his arms. "That's what I told her, too. She went back to sleep though; you should too. It's going to be a big day."

Another sigh left her mouth and she snuggled closer to him.

He felt her drift back into the land of dreams and closed his eyes as well, letting sleep take him over.

 

* * *

 

Putting the grill fork down, Oliver closed the barbecue grill, looking over to Felicity and Lily who were playing on the grass with Lyla and Sara.

They were all gathered in the garden of the mansion, celebrating Lily's first birthday. It was mid-June and Oliver and Felicity had decided on a small barbecue and pool party, just inviting Sara, Tommy and the Diggles.

His mother and sister were there as well and they had decorated the small terrace with colorful balloons and garlands. There was also a big banner saying 'Happy first birthday, Lily' hanging over the door that led into the house.

"Oh man, look at you all domestic and happy," Tommy greeted him, patting his shoulder.

Oliver turned around to see his best friend standing behind him, holding a big present wrapped in pink paper.

"Tommy," Oliver welcomed him, smiling. "What can I say; my days as your wingman are over. I found something more worthy than partying all night, no offense."

"None taken," Tommy chuckled, shaking his head. "You're so cheesy these days; no wonder Felicity is crazy about you."

They walked over to the table with all the presents and Tommy put his down, having trouble fitting it on because of the amount of other presents.

"You have one spoiled kid there, Ollie," Tommy laughed, looking over to Lily. "You're still coming to the club opening next week, right?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it. Felicity is coming too. We got Lyla and John to agree to take Lily for a while," Oliver assured him, handing his best friend a beer.

Tommy and Thea had worked hard over the last few months, finding the right venue and building up the club. All their hard work had paid off. The club looked amazing and Oliver was sure that it was going to be one of the best clubs in town.

"Good," Tommy interrupted his thoughts, holding his beer bottle towards him. "To Lily."

"To Lily," he agreed, nudging his bottle against Tommy's.

They each drank a sip of their beer, before he excused himself to go and check on Felicity. He'd noticed a while back that she'd gotten up and handed Lily over to Thea to make her way inside and he was curious to see what she was up to.

Entering the house, he walked through the living room and dining room, entering the kitchen, where he found Felicity filling up one of the pitchers.

"You know Raisa would be happy to do that for you," he said.

She flinched at the sound of his voice, putting the pitcher on the kitchen counter. Stopping behind her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest.

"Oliver," she hissed. "You scared me. What did I tell you about creeping up on me?"

Smiling, Oliver started nipping at her neck and he felt Felicity lean into him, placing her hand on his arm.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" He asked, his breath tickling her behind her ear, sending shivers through her body.

"I'm pretty sure you already told me several times," she replied, stretching her chin up to give him better access to her neck.

His lips trailed wet kisses down her neck and her fingernails dug into his arms around her waist in response. "You've got to stop doing that or both of us will regret it for the rest of the day."

Sighing in defeat, he turned her around in his arms, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss.

"I can't help myself, sweetheart," he whispered as he placed his forehead against hers.

"You're insatiable, Mr. Queen," Felicity laughed, caressing his back lovingly. "But you will have to wait until tonight." She pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "Our daughter requires our full attention today."

His heart started to beat faster, hearing her refer to Lily as their daughter and he was yet again left breathless. It wasn't the first time, but he was sure that it would never get old.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," Felicity smiled, taking the pitcher of water and waiting for Oliver to move.

 

* * *

 

A little later, they were all standing around the table, Lily sitting at the head of the table in her high chair, a birthday cake with one candle on top of it. Oliver and Felicity stood next to her, one on each side, making sure that she didn't try to touch the candle or the cake.

Everybody was singing 'Happy Birthday' and Lily looked around, her eyes wide, unsure of her situation.

After they had somehow managed to convince Lily to at least pretend to blow out the candle, Oliver and Felicity both helping her, everybody started to clap and cheer.

"I wanna thank every single one of you for coming and spending the day with Lily and us today," Oliver spoke up, looking at Lily who was reaching for her cake. "Half a year ago all of this was just a distant dream for me, something that I longed for in silence and sometimes I still can't believe that this is not a dream."

Everybody chuckled softly and he brushed a hand over Lily's head, making her look up to him.

"Meeting Felicity was one of the greatest moments in my life, even if she kept me on my toes for some time. She's this incredible strong woman who tackles every single problem life throws at her and I fell for her, before I even had time to realize any of it. I was more than happy with just her, but she gave me more." He stopped, looking at Felicity who had moved closer to him, her head tilted to the side, her eyes soft. "She gave me Lily and I don't think I can ever thank her enough for that. Being able to love her and call her my daughter, is making me impossibly proud and I love her more than anything."

He grabbed Felicity's hand, squeezing it softly, before pulling her closer to him. He puffed out some air, taking a deep breath, a soft smile grazing his lips.

"I'm gonna stop now, before anybody thinks I turned into a sappy old man." Laughter filled his ears and he focused back onto Lily. "Happy Birthday, baby girl. Daddy loves you."

He leaned down, pressing a kiss onto her head, which she barely recognized, too busy squishing a cracker with her fingers. Moving back up, Felicity leaned into him, tilting her head up. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They gently kissed, probably a little longer than was appropriate in front of his friends and family, but he didn't care. Warmth radiated through his body and his heart was racing, drumming in his chest. He was surrounded by the most important people in his life and he finally felt like his life made sense again. He was happy and he knew that he would be able to take every challenge life would throw at him from now on, knowing that there were people out there who loved him unconditionally.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new story, everyone. I finished writing this a few weeks ago and I'll post a new chapter every Wednesday.  
> Thanks goes to my beta reader Imagine036 for sticking with me through the whole story and doing a fabulous job!  
> Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. Let me know what you think!


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